Much Ado About Fenchurch East
by theHuntgoeson
Summary: Inspired by Shakespeare's immortal comedy. While the team plot to bring Gene and Alex together, an enemy plans to drive Chris and Shaz apart. AU, set between Series 3 Episodes 3 and 4.
1. Cunning Plan

**A/N: I don't own Ashes to Ashes, nor do I own anything written by Shakespeare!**

**Apologies to everyone for the very long delay since I last posted or reviewed anything, or replied to the reviews I have recieved. As I have already indicated on my profile page, life has been very bad to me and to my family in the meantime. Like monkey-in-hell, I have lost someone wonderful. **

**But, through it all, I have managed to continue writing here and there (it's one of the few things keeping me semi-sane), and at last I've decided to try to start posting again. The posting of future chapters may not be very regular, but I'll do my best. I'll also do my utmost to answer any reviews received.**

**I started this story last year, left it half-finished, and then picked it up again recently. It was inspired by a thread on The Railway Arms some months ago, in which several people suggested Shakespearean roles which Phil Glenister could play. My own suggestion was Benedick in **_**Much Ado About Nothing**_** - a ****man who conceals his feelings behind brilliant wordplay and repartee, who against his will falls in love with a beautiful, spirited, independent, fiercely witty woman who is equally reluctant to fall in love with him…**** Then I began to think how many other A2A characters are similar to characters in **_**Much Ado**_**, and this story began to take shape. Those who know their Shakespeare should recognise the parallels I have drawn between A2A and **_**Ado**_** (some of them quite sneaky), but if you don't know the play, it shouldn't stop you enjoying (or understanding) the story.**

**It's set during the long gap between Episodes 3 and 4 of Series 3, but is AU insofar as Chris and Shaz are still engaged and Annie has not yet gone to the Railway Arms.**

**This doesn't mean that I've abandoned "The Beginning of an Era" – it just so happens that the next chapter will be very fluffy, and fluff is the one thing I cannot face at the moment. I'll resume it as soon as I can.**

"Well, thank you, Guv. It's _so_ nice to know I'm appreciated!"

Alex fairly hurled her knife and fork onto her plate, pushed her chair back with a scrape which made Luigi wince for his flooring, and stalked upstairs. Gene tossed back the last of his wine, determinedly ignoring the five pairs of eyes watching him from the next table, threw some money onto the table, and stumped out. Everyone else in the restaurant realised that they had forgotten how to breathe.

Annie, who was in London for Chris and Shaz's wedding, looked scandalised. Her four companions, being used to it, looked merely resigned.

"Those two ought to get a room or kill each other," Shaz muttered into the silence.

"Has it always been this bad?" Annie said sympathetically.

Shaz shook her head. "No. They used to be so close. I could see that, even if these divs couldn't." She took in Ray, Chris and Viv with a wave of her hand, and all three bridled indignantly. "They still love each other, I'm sure of it. But it's all gone wrong for them, ever since - "

"Ever since they had that row the night before Operation Rose, an' the Guv shot 'er the next day." Chris's voice was full of self-recrimination, and his face was sad and dark.

"I was _going_ to say, since DCI Keats arrived," Shaz finished, and all five glanced discreetly at the man in question, sitting in solitary splendour on the opposite side of the restaurant, tucking into a substantial plateful of spaghetti bolognese. He looked up, and they looked away quickly. Annie was the slowest, and her eyes met his for a moment. Despite the warmth of the restaurant, she felt a chill down her spine as she looked into those black depths. To hide her confusion, she reached for an abandoned copy of the _Evening Standard_ on a nearby chair and leafed through the pages. An advertisement for the Royal Shakespeare Company's season at the Barbican Theatre caught her eye, and she made a mental resolve to see Derek Jacobi and Sinead Cusack in _Much Ado About Nothing_ while she was in town.

"He's trying to set us all against each other, I'm sure of it," Shaz continued in an undertone. "Divide and conquer. It was him who nearly talked me into leaving the Force - "

"_Was_ it?" Chris hadn't heard that before.

"An' he suggested I join him when we were 'aving all that arson trouble," Ray said thoughtfully.

"Did he?" Viv frowned. "And he told me - " He checked himself.

"What, Viv?" Shaz looked concerned.

"Forget it." He made a dismissive gesture. "Nothing but Keats talk."

"Looks like we're all getting a bloody sight too much Keats talk," Ray said grimly. "Trying to split us all up."

"And split us from the Guv," Shaz said eagerly. "I'm sure that's what he's doing with the Boss, too. Feeding her lies about the Guv, so they don't trust each other any more."

"The Guv deserves to be happy," Annie said sadly, laying her newspaper aside. "He's lost so much in the past few years. First it was Sam's death, then the divorce, then he left Manchester to start over down here. He must be so lonely."

"Not him. He loves 'em and leaves 'em." Ray was clearly desperate to avoid any suggestion that his Guv might be "soft".

"That's not true!" Shaz said indignantly. "He and the Boss are made for one another. If someone could make them realise how they feel about each other, I know everything would be different. It's such a shame," she added sadly. "I've been hoping that everything would come right in time for my wedding. That would be the best wedding present of all for me. To see them happy together."

Ray shrugged. "About as much chance of that as City caning United."

"Hmmm..." Annie was still for a moment, then picked up her paper, folded it back, and studied the RSC advert again. When she looked up, her face was suffused with such excitement and purpose that Chris swore afterwards that he had seen a bulb light up above her head.

"_Much Ado About Nothing_ - why not? They're a modern Beatrice and Benedick."

"Eh?" Ray was not equal to the intellectual pressure of the conversation, and Viv and Chris looked equally baffled. Shaz, who had read the play, nodded but clearly did not understand what Annie had in mind.

Annie turned to Shaz. "I think we might be able to get you that wedding present."

Shaz frowned. "How?"

"I have a cunning plan."

"What - like the Black Adder?" Chris piped up. "You know, the TV series." Everyone else looked blank, and he burst into song. "_Black Adder, Black Adder, with many a cunning plan, Black Adder, Black Adder, you horrid little man..._" Startled diners looked round, and Shaz grabbed his arm.

"Chris. Chris," she hissed urgently. "_Shut up. _People are looking. _Keats_ is looking."

"Oh." Chris deflated. "Er. It's a good series, anyway." Annie gave Shaz a glance of sisterly solidarity.

"Shall we get back to Annie's plan?" Viv suggested tactfully.

Annie looked around the table. "I'll bet you all that by the time of the wedding, we can bring the Guv and Alex together, but I'll need all of you to help me."

"But that's only five days," Chris protested.

"Well, are you in?"

Shaz grinned. "Count me in." She prodded Chris, who blurted out, "Yeah, me too."

"And me," Viv added.

Ray looked perplexed. "Sure, but how'll we manage that, when they're biting lumps out of each other?"

Annie leaned across the table. They all leaned close to hear. "Well, here's what we'll do..."

They went into a close huddle, whispering excitedly, and Ray made notes on a napkin. They were so intent on their discussion that they were oblivious to the interested glances which Keats was sending their way.

"But I'll never remember all of that," Chris said desperately.

"Don't worry, Babes, I'll type it out for you."

"What do Ray and I do?" Viv said hopefully.

Annie assumed command. "After the Guv's followed Shaz and Chris to the Records Room, Viv, you make sure nobody else tries to get in there or to follow him. Especially not Keats. Ray, after the Guv's left the office, you've got to keep Alex talking until Chris or Shaz or Viv gives you the all clear."

"Roger that."

Annie looked at Shaz. "It'll have to be us two to nail Alex. You'll be on double duty."

Shaz nodded. "Suits me. When'll that be?"

Annie pondered. "Harder to arrange, as we can't do it at the station."

Shaz looked wicked. "Hen night?"

Annie chuckled. "You're on."

Viv nudged Annie. "Keats at one o'clock."

The man himself ambled up to their table, his face full of innocent enquiry. "Evening, all. Discussing cases off duty?"

"Oh, no, Sir." Ray sounded very respectful. "We're cutting DS Cartwright here into our pools syndicate while she's here, and we're discussing tactics."

"Really!" He flashed them a winning smile. "Any chance I could join in? I could do with winning a pot of money and retiring early."

"Sorry, Sir." Shaz smiled as sweetly as she could. "We have a rule. DIs are the highest rank allowed. DS used to be highest, but we changed it for Ray when he was promoted."

"I see. Well, good luck, all of you." He smiled again, and turned to go. Just as they were all silently sighing with relief, he turned back. "DS Cartwright?"

"Sir?" Annie was on her guard. Ray and Viv instinctively moved in closer on either side of her.

"Of Greater Manchester Police?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Did you by any chance know the late DI Sam Tyler?"

"Yes, Sir." Annie's voice was paper-thin. "I'm his widow." Ray would cheerfully have socked Keats in the jaw, but a warning look from Viv stopped him.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't realised that he was married."

"I continued to use my maiden name professionally after our marriage, Sir. To avoid confusion while we were on the same team." Annie had herself under control, but even Chris could sense the effort that it cost her.

"I see. He was the best of them."

"I know, Sir."

"Well, good luck with the pools, all of you. Good to meet, you, DS Cartwright." He smiled and moved away to the bar. Annie looked hard at the table top, and the others were silent to allow her to recover. After he had returned to his table, she raised her head and shuddered.

"God, he gives me the creeps. How on earth do you put up with him?"

"Because we have to," Shaz muttered. "He's been on our backs ever since Operation Rose. You wouldn't believe it, but some of the WPCs actually think he's _cute_."

"Ugh, spare me. Boys, do you know who he reminds me of? DCI Morgan. You know, the one who conned Sam and nearly got us all shot. He was a creep too."

"Yeah, an' he vanished after the Johns takedown an' was never seen again," Ray said throughtfully. "No explanation ever given."

"Maybe he was D an' C too," Chris ventured. "Something in the water in their building that makes them like that."

Annie shrugged and firmly pushed the memory away. "Let's not talk about it. Come on, all of you. My hotel's only ten minutes' walk away. I'll stand you a round at the bar, and we'll go over the details of Operation Much Ado again without Pencil Neck in the corner trying to listen in."

Chris blinked. "Wow, you are a good detective. How did you work out that the Guv calls 'im a pencil neck?"

Annie smiled and shook her head. "Not that difficult. I cheated. I overheard the Guv talking to Alex just now."

Laughing, they all stood, collected their coats, and swept out in a flurry of chatter, calling out their goodnights to Luigi. Ray was careful to stow the napkin, with his notes, into his pocket. After they had gone, Keats rose from his place and strolled over to the table they had vacated. He knew that they were up to something. Too bad that he hadn't been close enough to overhear what they were saying.

It was the greatest pity that Annie had left the newspaper, still folded back at the RSC advert, lying on the table. Keats picked it up and studied it thoughtfully. He was well-read and knew the play well, but where Annie had been inspired by one half of its story, his thoughts instantly turned to the other.

Now, there was an idea. Maybe it was time for him to give Fenchurch East much ado about something.

"Signor Keats? Can I help you?" Luigi, bristling with suspicion, stood nearby. "Another glass of wine, perhaps?"

"No, thanks, Luigi, I think I'll call it a night. You won't mind if I take this paper?"

"Not at all, Signor Keats. A diner left it, so another diner may take it."

"Thanks." He slapped the folded newspaper against the palm of his hand. "Good night, Luigi."

He sauntered out. Luigi glared after him and made the sign of the horns.

"_Malo notte_, Signor Keats," he muttered.

-oO0Oo-

The following morning, Gene's patience was reaching its normal generous limits. If he heard any more talk from any member of his team about the reception, table layouts, place settings, bridesmaids' dresses, floral displays, music, ribbons, guest lists, menus, Shaz's relatives, Chris's new suit, photographs or the weather prospects, he would crack them over the head with a lucky horseshoe and stake out the remains for the bridesmaids. He couldn't wait for the whole thing to be over. _Turning my team into a load of poofs and sissies. Why the bloody hell can't Shaz drag Chris off to the nearest registry office to make an honest man of him and take their families for a beer afterwards? Then when it all goes tits up, she won't have wasted the equivalent of a City forward's transfer fee._

He was struck by the way Shaz kept trying to attract Chris's attention, and then looking away whenever he looked in her direction. After about an hour she caught Chris's eye at last, with a glance of unmistakable urgency, and Gene was struck by the deep distress in her face. She stood and walked out of the office, and he saw Chris count five before following.

Right. That was it. He'd had enough. If those two thought they could go off somewhere in his nice, tidy station to discuss canapés and napkins, they had another think coming. And if Shaz was taking Chris away from his work to tell him that the whole thing was off, Gene would knock their empty heads together. He barrelled out of his office, marched across CID without a word, and crashed out through the swing doors. Alex looked up in mock surprise.

"Oh, dear, who got out of _his_ cave the wrong side this morning?"

She stood up to get a cup of tea, and a flustered Ray bore down on her.

"Alex - er - there's something I need to ask you."

"Yes?" She sat again.

"It's this case the Guv's given me, I can't make 'ead nor tail of it, an' I wondered if your psychic stuff could 'elp."

"You mean psychological profiling?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what is it?"

Ray seemed at a loss, and Alex waited patiently. He looked helplessly at the file in his hand.

"How would you profile someone who pinches a laundry van?"

-oO0Oo-

Gene emerged into the corridor, just in time to see Chris heading down the stairs. He followed stealthily. At the bottom of the stairs, Chris nipped into the Records Room, but left the door ajar. Gene followed, and was about to burst in on them when he heard Shaz's voice.

"Oh, Chris, I've just got to talk to you. I'm so worried about Alex! I'm sure something terrible will happen to her."

Gene stiffened. _Not if I can help it._

"The Boss?" Chris said, puzzled. "But why?"

Shaz sounded as though she were near to tears. "Last night, after the rest of you had gone, I saw that she'd dropped her warrant card when she left. I went up to her flat to give it back to her. I knocked at the door, but I couldn't get her to answer, and I was sure I could hear her crying. I asked Luigi for his spare key, and let myself in. She was sitting on the sofa, sobbing her heart out, with crumpled up bits of paper all around her. I picked up one of them and read it, and it said, "_My dearest Gene, I can't bear this any longer. I have to tell you how much I love you._"

Gene nearly fell over. "Bloody 'ell fi - " He stopped himself and clapped a hand over his mouth, convinced that the lovebirds must have heard him, but they appeared to be too intent on their conversation. He edged closer, convinced that his ears must be sticking out like the Quattro's doors.

"Nah, the Boss hates the Guv now," Chris was saying. "You know how they keep yelling at each other."

"I looked at the other pieces of paper. They all said much the same thing. Then she looked up and saw me reading one of them, and she almost screamed, "No! You mustn't look at that! You mustn't!" I was so embarrassed. I explained why I was there, and said how worried I was to see her like this. She grabbed my hands. Hers were icy cold. She looked into my eyes and said, "Shaz, you must promise me that you will never, _never_ tell anyone what you've just seen. Especially not the Guv."

Gene held his breath.

Shaz went on, "I said, "I won't if you don't want me to, Ma'am, but why don't you want the Guv to know? I know he's bad-tempered, but he's a fine man. You could do a lot worse.""

Gene opened his mouth for an indignant roar, and stopped himself just in time.

"She burst into tears again and said, "No, no, he must never know. How could I ever write to tell him that I love him, when we quarrel all the time? He'd be so angry and embarrassed. He might even use it as an excuse to transfer me out. I'd sooner die than tell him." She snatched the pieces of paper from me, tore them into little bits, and cried, "Gene, my Gene, I can't stand it!" Then she jumped up, ran to the window, and opened it. I grabbed her arm, I was so afraid that she was going to throw herself out, but she may have been looking to see if the Quattro was still there. It wasn't, the Guv had left long before. I got her back to the sofa and sat her down, and I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone. She was crying again when I left."

"So, um, why 'ave you told me?"

"Because I'm so worried about her!" Shaz said impatiently. "She said she'd die rather than tell him, but I think she'll die if she goes on pining for him like this. What if she tries to kill herself again, and nobody's there to stop her?"

There was a silence and a slight rustling of paper, then Chris said hastily, "Than someone should tell the Guv."

"And give him another reason to hurt her?" Shaz said tartly. "He does that enough already."

"I don't think 'e'd do that," Chris said loyally. "He wouldn't hurt a bird, specially not if he knew she loved 'im."

"This is the man who smacked her face to wake her out of a coma that _he'd_ put her into," Shaz said nastily. "He doesn't deserve someone as good and fine as her."

"Better leave 'er to get over it, then." Gene could almost hear Chris's shrug. "Someone else'll come along an' take 'er mind off 'im."

_Not if I can help it_, Gene thought darkly.

"I suppose you're right," Shaz said sadly. "But I wish I could do something to help her."

"Can't do much soon, anyway, with the wedding four days away an' us away on honeymoon the next fortnight. Maybe things'll be better when we get back."

"Maybe, but I don't think they will. Look, we'd better be getting back to the office. We'll be missed sooner or later."

"Aren't you forgetting something first?" Chris's voice was warm and teasing.

"Of course not." There was the sound of a passionate and prolonged snog, and Gene drew aside into the shadows as the lovers ran out, hand in hand, their hair ruffled, and raced up the stairs together. He heard Shaz's voice float down, "See you later, lover," and then he was alone.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. His head was whirling. Alex loved him, although she might never say it. It was all he could ever have hoped for. He had stopped hoping, so long ago. They had been fighting for so long that it had become a way of life to him. He realised that he had ceased to think of her as a person whose feelings could be hurt. She was a monumental pain in the arse and that was that. But now he cast his mind back to the time before it had all gone wrong. Before Operation Rose and the shooting. Before Keats had walked into their lives.

_You an' me, Bolly. You an' me._ He remembered the look in her eyes as he had said those words, and how wildly his heart had been beating.

_I really thought, you an' me - I thought we were the ones, we had a connection._ She had lied to him, and he had thought that their connection was broken. That she did not care for him. Then the disaster of Operation Rose had driven them apart, and since then, he had closed his heart and mind to any thoughts of her except as a colleague. Now he knew how close he had come to breaking her heart. That she might die if he did not love her.

Shaz's bitter condemnation still rang in his ears. _No._ He was better than that. He would prove it, to Alex and to the whole world. He would be horribly in love with her. After the bitterness of his divorce, he had not thought ever to give his heart again. But perhaps it would not be too late for the two of them. A life together, marriage, maybe kids. His heart throbbed at the prospect of making love to her, feeling her reaching her peak in his arms, holding her as she slept, awakening beside her every morning, and of her cradling a child which had his blue eyes and her dark hair.

He ascended the stairs and walked slowly along the corridor to CID, deep in thought. Passing the desk, he didn't notice Viv grabbing his phone and urgently dialling a number.

-oO0Oo-

"So, um, you don't think that someone who pinches a laundry van is necessarily an underwear pervert? Even if it was full of ladies' smalls at the time?"

"Not necessarily, Ray. If there had been several vans targeted which were full of underwear, I just _might_ be able to go with your theory, but it's only the one van, and it was taken a fortnight ago. If we were looking at someone with an obsessive disorder, I'm sure we'd have seen a repeat offence by now. It's far more likely that the van was nicked by one of our regular villains in the second-hand vehicle trade, and either resprayed or dismantled for the parts. Why don't you have a word with Bob the Job at Fenchurch Used Cars?"

Ray looked crestfallen. "Bugger. Really thought I was onto something there."

Alex shook her head. "You should beware of over-complicating a straightforward case."

"But I thought, if it might be someone who's preying on women, we should - "

"Ray, I cannot _believe _how thick you are being over this! Treat it as an ordinary stolen vehicle case, for God's sake!"

Fortunately for Ray, at that moment his phone rang. Chris answered it, held it in the air, and yelled, "Call for you, Ray!"

"Thank God for that," Ray muttered, fleeing for his desk, leaving a thoroughly irate Alex behind him. He took the phone from Chris. "Hello?"

"Guv's on his way," Viv muttered, dreading that Gene might still be in earshot.

"Roger that." Ray hung up, just as Gene came through the swing doors. At the door to his office, he paused, turned, and looked at Alex. Why had he never noticed how unhappy she looked? Trying and failing to look unobtrusive, he walked over to her desk.

"Bols?"

"Guv?" She looked up, her face still like thunder.

"You okay? Anything I can get you?"

"Yes, Guv. Out of my sight."

He walked into his office, his heart singing. There was a double meaning in that. Of course she wouldn't want to tell him what she felt for him, with the whole of CID listening in. That would be something for them both to say, when the two of them could be alone together. But how would he manage that? If he asked her out to dinner now, her pride might not let her accept.

Something else that Shaz had said, swam into his mind. The wedding was in four days' time. Everyone would be thinking pink fluffy thoughts. Alex would be all moist-eyed, birds always were at weddings. He would tell her then.

He realised that he had not the faintest idea of what he was going to say or do when he got her alone at last. How did a bloke go about falling in love?

He sat at his desk, poured himself a glass of whisky, and searched in the top drawer until he found a battered snapshot of the team at Luigi's. Chris had taken it when they were celebrating after taking Burns down. Her hairstyle had changed twice since then, but it would do for his purpose. She always looked beautiful anyway. He located a pair of scissors, cut Alex's image from the photo, slid it into his wallet, and gazed at it fondly.

It was a start.

-oO0Oo-

Ray, Chris and Shaz contrived to meet up in the kitchen ten minutes later, with the kettle on and the tap running to mask what they were saying.

"D'you think he heard what we were saying?" Chris asked Shaz.

"I hope so. I nearly died when you lost your place and I had to point out your next line in the script. I felt sure he'd hear the rustle when you turned the page over."

"Must 'ave heard you," Ray said firmly. "He was making big softy eyes at the Boss when 'e came back in. Only just got back in time," he added. "Boss was about to kill me. Never felt such a prat in my life."

"All in a good cause, mate," Chris said helpfully.

"Bingo." Shaz grinned at them both. "Stage One completed. Stage Two is for Annie and me."

**TBC**


	2. Set Up

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Ashes to Ashes" or "Life on Mars", but I wish I did. Nor do I own Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing."**

**A/N: Countless apologies to everyone for the absurdly long wait since I posted Chapter 1. Life has continued to be horrible since then, and administering my late father's estate is taking even more time than I expected. I'm by no means out of the wood yet, but I'm taking advantage of a very temporary lull to post this chapter. More chapters of this story and "The Beginning of an Era" will follow when I can wrest the time from real life to post them.**

**I just hope that my entire readership hasn't become so fed up with my long silence that they've fled in disgust. If you can forgive me, please review!**

Shaz had the good sense and foresight to hold her hen night two nights before the wedding, thus ensuring that any hangovers and other indispositions should be out of the way before the big day. Much to her relief, and as she had intended, it had the effect of getting Ray to organise Chris's stag party on the same night, "when no birds are around to interfere". She had no intention of waiting at the church, only to discover that Chris was still pissed, and she had already informed Ray that if he handcuffed Chris naked to a lamp post or put him on the boat train, she would personally make sure that he would never become a father.

One of her uncles had a friend in the hotel trade, and as a wedding present he had hired a function room in a posh Kensington hotel for the hen night. It was at the top of the building, with access to a beautiful roof garden. The party consisted of Shaz, Annie, Alex, three cousins who were to be bridesmaids, the WPCs and secretaries from the station, and a number of her friends. The function room included a bar, and soon the drink was flowing freely.

Alex felt vaguely depressed. With the exception of Annie, everyone present was in their twenties, and it made her feel ancient. In reality neither the noise level nor the rate of alcoholic consumption was significantly different from a bog-standard night at Luigi's, but after around ninety minutes she felt so overwhelmed by the heat, the sound, and the relentless tide of youth, that she slipped away to the roof garden. She found a bench behind a hedge, where nobody was likely to see her and drag her back to the party until she was ready to go, and gratefully slid her shoes off. She had only bought them the other day, and she knew that she should have tried them out before rashly wearing them to an event where she had to stay on her feet all night. Her dogs were barking - like her, as the Guv would doubtless say.

She didn't know what to make of the Guv's behaviour over the past few days. He had stopped shouting at her, he had made her cups of tea (which were disgusting), and once or twice she had even caught him looking at her when he thought she couldn't see, with a more tender expression than she had seen from him since he had comforted an eight-year-old girl who had just become an orphan. It was all very disconcerting. She was hardened to his harshness, but she was bewildered by this sudden gentleness. The cynical part of her mind told her that it was probably all some big wind-up, yet she could not help but think wistfully of the days before doubt and suspicion had wrecked their relationship. When they had had a connection. Maybe the forthcoming wedding was making him remember those days too. But how could she let herself love a man who might have murdered his friend?

She heard someone flop onto the bench on the other side of the hedge, followed by a soft murmur of "Phew!" and the sound of someone fanning herself. Not wanting to be found, Alex kept very still. A couple of minutes later, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"You all right there, Annie?"

"Yes, thank you, Shaz. Sorry, I didn't mean to abandon you. I just felt that I needed a breather. There's only so much riotous celebration I can take at my age."

"No worries. The garden's here, it's only right that some of us should use it." Alex heard Shaz sitting beside Annie. "It's beautiful out here. So peaceful. Maybe I should bring everyone out here later."

"It wouldn't be very peaceful with all of us out here," Annie commented wryly.

"I suppose not." The two women sat in silence for a few moments, then Annie spoke again.

"Now we're quite alone, and nobody can hear us, what were you telling me about the Guv being in love with Alex?"

Alex had to stop herself gasping out loud.

"Yes, poor man," Shaz said sadly. "He's desperately in love with her. I think she's the only one who can't see it. I've seen him so often, watching her from his office, and when we're all in Luigi's. Once I found a bit of paper in his bin, a drawing of her. We pinned it on the notice board because we hoped she'd see it and realise how he felt, but he tore it down. Then they became so close when Mac was trying to get rid of him, and when - " her voice broke for a moment, "when they found out about Chris. But then it all went wrong with Operation Rose. They quarrelled badly then, none of us knows why, and then he shot her."

"But that was an accident, wasn't it?"

"Of course it was, and she made that clear when she woke up from her coma. But things have never been the same again, and now DCI Keats is driving them apart. I'm sure he's poisoning her mind against the Guv. He even - " Shaz checked herself. "No, I shouldn't tell you."

"What?" They were off script now.

"Well, I think - I think he's convinced her that - that the Guv caused Sam's death."

"_WHAT?"_ Annie's voice rose to a shriek. "But that's rubbish! I'd sooner suspect myself of killing Sam than the Guv! And you say Alex _believes_ this?"

"I may be wrong." Shaz sounded frightened. "But I know that she sent to GMP for Sam's file and his effects."

"I knew that someone at Fenchurch had sent for Sam's file. I was informed as his next of kin. I thought it must have been the Guv."

"No, it was Alex. And Chris has told me that she's asked him if he was there when the car was found. I've overheard her asking the Guv about Sam's death, too, and I've heard them quarrelling about it. And Keats is always there, always murmuring his poison in her ear. He's a plausible bastard, I'll give him that. He encouraged me to leave the team, and he's tried to get Ray to join him as well."

"But why the hell should Alex trust that reptile, and not the Guv?"

"Well, the Guv did shoot her, even though it was an accident. And I don't think he's ever apologised, not properly. He's too proud. But it's destroying him, having to watch her drift away from him like this, knowing that Keats is driving a wedge between them."

"Shaz, the Guv was Sam's best friend. They were like brothers." Annie's voice was rough with grief. "He'd _never_ have killed him. He had no reason to. When Sam died, the Guv was like a man whose heart had been ripped out. He'd lost his brother all over again."

"I'm sorry, Annie. I should never have told you this."

"No, I'm glad you did. I'm going to have a word with Master Keats before I go home. He's blackening the name of an innocent man. And then I'll tell Alex that she's breaking the heart of a good man who loves her, one of the two best men I've ever known. God, hasn't the Guv suffered enough already, without this as well?"

"You saw how he looked when she stormed out of Luigi's the other night." They were back to the script now. "He's so unhappy and so lonely. I wanted to tell her then, but I'm afraid of making things worse. And think how angry the Guv would be, if he knew that I'd interfered in his personal affairs."

"We can't order her to love him." Annie's voice was hard with suppressed emotion. "But I can clear his name with her, and I will. After that it'll be up to Alex."

There was a sound of tipsy giggling from the doorway leading to the function room, and several of the other girls erupted into the garden. "Where's the Chief Hen?" one of them shrieked. Shaz rose to her feet.

"Over here, girls. Just taking time out for a breather. Go back to the bar and set one up for me, Ursula. Pina colada." She bent over Annie and murmured, "I'll get them back inside. You stay out here for as long as you need." Before Annie could reply, she had gone, floating across the garden, collaring one bridesmaid who was about to collapse against a potted palm, and chivvying them back indoors with an authority which said volumes for her crowd control skills. Annie remained where she was for several minutes, and Alex could hear her weeping softly. At last she took a deep breath, stood, and walked back to the function room, leaving Alex alone.

Alex had never felt so mortified in her life. Where had she been keeping her brain all this time? She had been allowing Keats to twist her around his little finger. She barely knew the man, yet she had let him convince her that Gene could have murdered his best friend. He had dropped the hint about _history repeating itself_ while she was in hospital, and he had seized upon her suspicion that Gene was at the heart of this world. Then she had found the redacted file on top of Gene's cabinet. But suddenly, coldly, she realised that if Gene had owned the file before it was moved to the store room, it would have been locked inside the cabinet. Had Keats left it there for her to find?

She had become so enmeshed in his web of lies, that she had lost sight of reality. But, on hearing Annie's passionate defence of their Guv, it was as though someone had torn a curtain down and let the daylight in. All at once, Alex realised how Keats had been duping her.

_Annie's right. She knows. Gene would never have killed his friend. Good God, I call myself a detective, and I've fallen for everything Keats has fed to me, hook, line, and sinker._

_And Gene loves me. He's loved me all this time. Shaz knows it, and I've been too blind to see. How close have I come to breaking his heart?_

_Oh, my poor Gene. Alone, unjustly suspected, afraid he'll lose me to Keats, too proud to tell me how he feels… Forgive me, my love._

_It's all right, Gene. Go on loving me, because I love you, and I always will._

_I'll tell you, soon. At the wedding. I'll tell you then. _

-oO0Oo-

With a houseful of relatives and guests already arriving, a final dress fitting, and last minute checks with the photographer and the florists, Shaz had decided to take the day before the wedding on leave. Chris had agreed to come in to work, on the strict understanding that he would not stop for a drink or six on the way home, so as to hand Luigi some final instructions. The kind-hearted Italian had offered his restaurant as the venue for the reception at a massive discount, insisting that it was his wedding present to the happy couple.

Chris looked a little green about the gills, but, surprisingly, was more or less able to function. That was more than could be said for Alex, who was too embarrassed by the previous night's revelations to so much as look at the Guv, or Gene, who was pussyfooting around her and chewing everyone else's heads off.

In the middle of the afternoon, Keats found Chris in the kitchen, where he was making his sixth restorative black coffee of the day.

"Well!" Keats put his cup down on the counter and clapped Chris on the shoulder, making him wince. "Everything set for the big day?"

"Yes, thank you, Sir." Chris shook his head to clear it. "Guv's said I can leave an hour early, and I'll go straight 'ome after I've left Shaz's instructions with Luigi. She an' 'er Mum an' Dad are dealing with everything else at their end."

"Good for them. Planning a wedding must be like a military operation." Keats blazed his most guileless smile. "Not that I have any first hand experience, you understand."

"No, of course not, Sir - that is - " Chris stopped himself, realising that he was about to put his foot in it.

"I hope that WPC Granger will be all right," Keats added with an anxious frown.

"Oh, yeah, she'll be fine, Sir," Chris said proudly. "She's always on top of a crisis. I'm the one who's a bag of nerves."

"No, I wasn't thinking of that. She's staying in her parents' house tonight?"

Chris looked astonished. "Yes, of course."

"Ah, well, she should be safe enough there."

"What do you mean, Sir?" By now Chris was seriously alarmed.

Keats spoke lower. "I've had a tip-off from one of my sources that some South London villain with a grudge against this station could be planning something against its personnel. They know where she lives, and that she's getting married tomorrow."

Chris was appalled. "Then we've got to tell the Guv at once!" He was about to set off for Gene's office, but Keats held in his arm in a light but firm grip.

"Calm down, Skelton. There's nothing definite. It's just a rumour that I've picked up on the grapevine."

Chris was near to tears. "But, but, if we tell the Guv, he can arrange for the house to be protected."

Keats shrugged elaborately. "And do you think he'd place any value on information that I give him? Or you? He's so prejudiced against me that he'll automatically regard any warning of mine as worthless, and he seems to look upon you as little better than an idiot, which is very short-sighted of him. You're a very promising young officer."

Any other member of the team would have smelt a Hamelin of rats. But this was Chris, tired, hungover, emotional, and desperately worried.

"Th-thank you, Sir. It's kind of you to say so. But what can I do? Shaz might be in danger."

Keats patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Let's just keep this as our own little secret, shall we? Why don't you mount your own surveillance operation? Keep an eye on the house tonight, say from ten till two. It should be safe after that. You and she will be going on honeymoon tomorrow, and I'm sure I can mop up these villains while the two of you are away."

Chris was wide-eyed. "Thank you, Sir! I will!"

"Good man. Oh, and there's no need to mention any of this to WPC Granger. She'd only be worried, and you mustn't ruin her beauty sleep the night before the wedding."

"No, Sir. Of course not, Sir. Thank you, Sir!"

"Think nothing of it." Keats smiled reassuringly and pushed Chris's mug into his hands. "Run along now. Remember, be there at ten o'clock."

-oO0Oo-

Chris felt a right prat, skulking behind the wall next to Shaz's house at 1.00 a.m. on the night before his wedding. He had dared not sit in a car in front of the house for fear of being spotted by the occupants, and he was freezing. The house had been dark for hours. Everyone had sensibly gone to bed early. A small part of his mind told him that he should be at home in bed too. But Keats had told him that Shaz might be in danger, and he was proud of the knowledge that he was protecting his bride-to-be. He was a promising young officer. Keats had said so.

He glanced at his watch. It was just gone 1.10. He would give it another fifty minutes, and then he would bugger off home and get some shut-eye in advance of the big day. He hoped that he would be able to get into the flat without disturbing Ray, who was staying overnight, sleeping on the sofa, to give them an early start in the morning. It would be useless trying to explain anything like this surveillance operation to Ray, he thought scornfully. _He_ wouldn't understand.

A creaking sound caught his ear, and the sash window of Shaz's bedroom slid open. Chris aimed his gun at the window and stopped, rigid with horror, as an all too familiar figure appeared and threw one leg over the sill.

"Good night, Shaz, my darling," Keats called out over his shoulder to the room behind him. "That really was the most exciting and fulfilling of all the nights we've ever spent together. I'm so glad that we could be together for one last time before you marry that idiot. I know you'll always feel the same about me, whatever happens. Your being married won't change anything. Maybe we'll be together again, one day soon, as soon as possible after you're back from your honeymoon. No, don't move, my love. Lie there and keep warm. You need your sleep, after what we've been doing. Good night, sweetheart."

He blew a kiss, climbed out of the window, sat on the broad sill while he closed the window behind him, jumped lightly to the ground, and vanished from sight.

Chris could not move. He stood, shaking, tears pouring down his face, while his world collapsed around him. Then he holstered his gun and ran, as fast as he could, as far as he could, away from the woman he loved, who had deceived him and destroyed his life. For a long time, he did not even know where he was running to. All he knew, was that he had to get away.

-oO0Oo-

Shaz's mother had to shake her daughter awake in the morning. She offered to bring her breakfast in bed, but Shaz would have none of it. She didn't want to go back to sleep and make everything late. She was conscious of having slept very heavily, and felt very dopey for some time after she got up, but set it down to nervousness, and breakfast and black coffee eventually put her right. Soon her bedroom was filled with female relatives who helped her dress and did her hair. She let their chatter soothe her. This was going to be the best day of her life, yet at the back of her mind there was an inexplicable sense of depression. A premonition that something was going to go wrong.

Nobody noticed the empty mug on her bedside table.

**TBC**


	3. Wedding Morning

**A/N: Once again, apologies for the long delay since posting Chapter 2. Life continues to be well and truly agin me, and I have to take whatever chances I can to write and post. This evening looks like being one of them, so here goes.**

**As always, thank you to everyone who's read the first two chapters, and especially to my kind reviewers – please let me know what you think of this chapter, and I'll do my best to reply as soon as I can!**

**If you know the play, you'll have a fair idea of what happens in this chapter – if not, you're about to find out…**

"Chris? Wake up, mate!" Ray shook the hump under the bedclothes until it moaned and stirred. He pulled the bedclothes back. "Bloody 'ell, you look as rough as a badger's arse! Come on, stir your stumps, we 'aven't got all day. "You're getting married in the morning..." Hey, d'you think I'll ever replace Stanley Holloway?"

Chris squinted against the light. Some homing instinct had led him, exhausted, to his own front door at about 3 a.m., and he had stumbled straight to bed without further thought. "I - I'm not getting married, Ray," he mumbled.

"Hah! They all say that. Come on, you aren't going to leave Shaz at the altar, are you? She'd pickle your particulars."

Chris shook his head desperately. "No, Ray, you don' understand, I'm not, I'm not - "

Ray bodily hauled his best friend out of bed. "Chickening out? That's not your style, mate. C'mon, let's get you to the shower."

Chris sat on the edge of the bed without moving, staring, unseeing, in front of him. It gave Ray the creeps. He could only assume that Chris had unwisely gone on a bender to cure his nerves, and that now his head didn't feel his own. He sighed. It was the best man's duty to get the bridegroom to church, dead or alive. He dragged Chris to his feet and almost carried him along the corridor to the bathroom.

Even the cold water could not bring Chris out of his dazed state. He dried himself mechanically, using the towel which Ray chucked in to him, then sat or stood as Ray commanded while he was poured into his new suit, shirt and boots, and had a black coffee poured down him. Ray left him in an armchair while he got ready, then steered him outdoors, settled him into the back seat of the Granada, started the engine and mopped his brow.

He was hoping to make some headway with the bridesmaids today. After this, he reckoned that he would deserve it.

-oO0Oo-

Gene prepared for the day with unusual care. He had bought a new suit. If it had only been for the wedding, he would not have bothered, but he wanted to impress Alex. That poncey tailor had told him that the pale grey wool, coupled with the dark blue silk tie, would bring out the colour of his eyes, and he had to admit that the bugger was right. The crisp, new white shirt felt good against his skin. The tailor had made so bold as to suggest that black dress boots would be a further improvement, but there Gene had drawn the line. He had cleaned his faithful crocodile boots, though, and made a point of shaving just before he left his house, so that his face would remain smooth for as long as possible. While he brushed his hair, he wondered what the day would bring. What he would say to Alex. What she would say to him. Whether it would bring them together or drive them apart again.

He had never felt so nervous in his life.

-oO0Oo-

Alex had considered long and hard, what would be best to wear. She was relieved that she was not a matron-of-honour. She had seen the attendants' dresses, and feared that all the frills and furbelows, in lime green silk, would not have done her any favours. She wanted to wear something that would impress Gene, without attracting too much attention. This was Shaz's day, not hers.

She had been in this world for so long now, that it was her reality. She still knew, at the back of her mind, that she had to get home, and she still remembered Molly, but her daughter had been far away, for such a long time, that her memories of her were blurred. She had long since abandoned any delusion that she could control events in this world. But if all this was in her imagination, then Shaz, unlike Gene, Ray and Chris, was her own creation. She was determined that Shaz would have her happy ending, even if nobody else could.

She had dithered over an old gold number - smart, but too ageing - and an elegant pink confection - too eye-catching - before eventually setting on a timeless, sleeveless sky-blue linen dress the colour of his eyes. On the age-old principle that if her hat cost a fiver, it would last her for years, but if it cost twenty pounds, it would be a disaster the first time she wore it, she had bought a plain, wide-brimmed black hat and decorated it herself, with white artificial flowers and white satin ribbon.

She added her gold necklace, small gold earrings and a bangle, and looked at herself in the mirror with sad, critical eyes. Maybe the colour made her skin appear too washed-out, even, horrors, too old. But it was too late to change now.

Did she look good enough for him to notice her?

-oO0Oo-

The wedding was taking place at the church of St Michael and all the Angels, where Shaz's family had worshipped since her childhood, and the priest, Father Francis, was an old family friend. Half of CID, mostly looking highly uncomfortable in their formal suits, had been roped in as ushers, along with several of Shaz's relatives and the boyfriends of two of the bridesmaids. Gene entered the church to find Alex already sitting in the front pew. He knew that his status as Chris's Guv entitled him to a place there, but he wanted to keep his distance. _Get the wedding out of the way first. I'll speak to her during the reception._ He had a quiet word with Poirot, who showed him to a place two rows behind, where, frustratingly, all he could see of her was the back of her hat.

Alex sat, not daring to look behind her. _Has he arrived? Will he come and sit with me? _When she heard his voice behind her and realised that he was sitting further back, she did not know whether to feel disappointed or relieved. It would have meant so much to her, if he had come to join her, but she did not want to face him just yet. _After the wedding. I'll talk to him at the reception. _Her discomfiture was increased when Annie came to sit beside her, radiantly pretty in dusky pink and clearly in high spirits. _What if she knew that I'd heard what she and Shaz said to each other at the hen night?_

Annie was feeling well pleased with herself. Shaz had phoned her the previous day and reported that Alex and the Guv were circling each other like teenagers mustering the courage to ask each other for a dance. Her plan was going well, and she was sure that it would make further progress in the course of the day. The only problem she could foresee, would be if the new lovers compared notes and worked out that they had been set up. They were detectives, after all. But once they'd realised that they loved each other, they would be grateful that she and the others had brought them together at last.

Just before the service was due to begin, Chris came down the aisle, on auto-pilot, with Ray holding his arm in an iron grip and steering him doggedly in the direction of the front pew. The bridegroom's eyes were blank and he seemed barely to know where he was. As he passed Gene, the Guv heard him moaning softly, "No, Ray, I'm telling you, I'm not, I'm not..."

Gene's heart sank. Had the stupid Mary taken leave of his one and only functioning brain cell? If he was about to cut and run, he would find himself arrested by a large number of very angry cops. But Gene realised that this was more than a Chris-sized display of wedding day nerves. Something was clearly very seriously wrong. He wished now that he had decided to sit at the front, near enough to grab Chris before he did anything he would regret later, apart from getting married. But it was too late now. The church was full, and he could not change seats without causing a major upheaval. He would have to hope that, for once in his life, Ray would be on the ball.

"Hey, Guv. What's up with Chris?" DC Slate, sitting at Gene's side, muttered softly. Gene shrugged, and his reply was drowned out as the organ struck up the Wedding March from _Lohengrin_, the congregation rose to its feet, and Shaz came down the aisle on her father's arm, with the bridesmaids in their wake. Following the shooting at St Joseph's, her New Romantic bridal gown had been drenched in Alex's blood, and she could not bear to look at anything resembling it again. This time, probably to her parents' relief, she had opted for something more traditional, with a tight, low-cut bodice, full, puffed sleeves, and a crinoline skirt, somewhat like a modified version of Princess Diana's wedding dress without the train. Even Gene, besotted as he was with Alex, had to admit to himself that she looked beautiful. _Far too good for that tosser Chris. If he cocks things up now, I'll make him eat her bouquet._

The march ended as she reached the altar, the congregation sat, Ray heaved Chris to his feet and shifted him into his place beside her, and Father Francis addressed the congregation.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the presence of God and this company to join Christopher and Sharon in the holy bonds of matrimony - "

"NO!" Chris snapped out of his daze and saw the church, the congregation, Shaz at his side, glowing with happiness and love. "NO! I'm not getting married!"

Shaz paled. "Chris?"

"Don't be a div," Ray growled behind him. Shaz's mother jumped to her feet, and her father stepped forward protectively. The congregation seemed frozen to their places with shock, except for Gene, who stood, slowly and awfully.

"No!" Tears were streaming down Chris's face. "How can you expect me to marry you after what I saw last night?"

"Last night?" Shaz echoed. "Chris, what are you talking about?"

"Don't try to pretend that you don't know!" Chris howled. "I was there!"

"Where?" Shaz demanded. Her sheer terror that Chris might have lost his mind, was rapidly transforming into blazing anger.

"Outside your house! Last night! I saw him - _him_ - climbing out of the window! And he was talking about how you an' he 'ave been together all this time! All the time you've been engaged to me!"

"WHO?" Shaz bellowed.

"Young man, what are you accusing my daughter of doing?" Shaz's father spoke at the same moment, and he stepped forward with dreadful determination. Her mother had broken down in noisy tears.

"Skelton, you arsewipe, pull yourself together!" Gene bellowed behind him.

The triple interruption checked Chris in his flow. For the first time, he seemed to realise the enormity of what he was doing. He looked around him, and saw anger and hostility in every face. He backed away a couple of steps and nearly cannoned into Gene.

"Look at 'er!" he shrieked, pointing at Shaz as bravado took over again. "You wouldn't think she'd do it, would you, any of you? But I know - I know! I saw him, I heard him!"

"WHO?" Shaz, her father and Gene all shouted together, and Gene spun Chris round, grabbed him by his lapels and shook him like a rat.

Father Francis stepped forward. "My children, no violence in God's house."

The priest's air of quiet authority momentarily quelled Gene. He carefully set Chris back on the ground, tidied his hair, set his lapels straight and patted his head with an ironic murmur of "Sorry, padre."

Father Francis took charge. "Christopher, you must explain yourself."

Chris ignored him. "Why did you do it, Shaz? I loved you, I loved you so much. You stood by me all through Operation Rose. Why have you thrown it all away now? Why didn't you tell me? Why?"

Shaz was white-faced and trembling, but somehow she forced herself to speak. "I don't know what you're talking about. There wasn't anyone in my room last night. I was asleep all night, _alone_."

"You've ruined my life," Chris moaned. "I won't be able to love anyone after this. You've got 'im, an' I wish you joy of 'im. But I'll never love anyone else, ever again!"

He turned, and before anyone could stop him, he had raced halfway up the aisle. Ray and Gene were both poised to run after him, and the cops among the ushers massed at the doors, but they were forestalled by Shaz's outcry.

"Let him go! LET HIM GO! I never want to see him again!"

She sank to her knees, sobbing rivers of tears. Her family and the bridesmaids crowded around her, half stifling her amid a pandemonium of crying women and shouting men until her mother's shriek told those on the outskirts that Shaz had fainted.

Annie somehow slid into the centre of the mass. "Let me see to her, please, Mrs Granger. I've been trained in nursing. Please get back, everyone. She needs to breathe, and she's in shock."

Ray had torn up the aisle after Chris, and returned, fuming with rage. "My car! The bastard's taken my bloody car!"

"Well, you shouldn't 'ave left the key in the ignition, bone brain!" Gene barked.

Under Annie's directions, Gene and Mr Granger lifted the unconscious Shaz onto a pew, and Annie loosened the tight gown. Father Francis dispatched the verger to bring a glass of water from the vestry, and Gene proffered his hip flask. The hysterical Mrs Granger seemed as much in need of restoratives as her daughter, and Alex and one of the bridesmaids attended to her.

"I'm sorry about this, Sir," Gene said quietly to Mr Granger.

"Thank you." Mr Granger was almost shaking with rage. "But it isn't you who needs to be sorry. It's that young - " he searched in vain for a suitable adjective.

"Twat, tosser, arsehole, shit, bastard, brain dead, United supporting moron," Gene supplied helpfully.

"Yes. When I find him, I'll kill him with my bare hands."

"Looks like you'll 'ave to join the queue. Behind Shaz, 'er Mum, me, an' a large number of _very_ angry bastard cops."

Annie joined them. "I've brought Shaz round, Mr Granger, and she's asking for you. You'd better take her home. She's exhausted, and both she and your wife need quiet and rest."

He nodded gratefully. "Thank you very much, Mrs - er - "

"Tyler."

"Thank you, Mrs Tyler." He glanced distractedly at the massed congregation. Gene understood.

"You get your wife an' daughter 'ome, Sir. Leave the rest of the guests to me, an' I'll make sure Luigi knows what's 'appened."

He looked grateful. "Thank you, Mr Hunt." He hurried away, and Gene took Annie aside.

"Go with 'em, Annie. Check the house, an' talk to anyone who was there last night."

Her eyes opened wide in understanding. "You think Chris was set up?"

"You know 'im. His brain may be the size of a split pea, but the dopy bastard loves that poor cow."

"What an elegant, compassionate way you have of expressing things, Guv."

"He wouldn't 'ave done this unless he thought there was a good reason. Chris's idea of a good reason isn't everybody's, but unless 'e was dreaming or 'ad D.T.'s, he saw _something_ outside that house last night, an' I want to know what it was."

"Roger that, Guv."

She moved away to help the Grangers, who were half carrying the distraught Shaz up the aisle, with the bridesmaids and the family group following in a cluster behind. Father Francis approached Gene.

"Sorry about all this, padre. I'll get this rabble out of your church."

"Thank you." The priest looked about him anxiously. "I wish I could leave with the Grangers, but I have to officiate at another wedding in a couple of hours."

"Don't worry. One of my officers is going with 'em. Annie Tyler, good lass. She'll help them."

Father Francis looked nervous. "Do you think Christopher has gone insane? I had only met him a few times, but he seemed a good, honest young man, not particularly clever, but very much in love. What on earth can have happened to make him behave like this?"

"That, padre, is what I mean to find out."

"Thank you. When you do, I'd be grateful if you could let me know."

"I will. Cop's honour." Gene turned and looked around. The family party and Annie had gone. The rest of the guests still stood or sat around aimlessly, looking shell-shocked or discussing the morning's events in hushed tones. He clapped his hands for silence, and everyone turned to him.

"Ladies an' gentlemen, looks like there won't be a wedding today. I wish to apologise for the conduct of my bastard Defective Constable. If anyone wants to get pissed, there's grub an' booze at Luigi's. Got to be used up or thrown away. Ray, you take everyone there who wants to go. The rest of you, mush."

"But what about my car, Guv?"

"Never mind your sodding car, Car-ling!" Gene roared. "Clear the church or I shave your tash off."

Amid exclamations of horror at his callousness, the guests moved towards the doors. Ray took the risk of lingering for a moment.

"Guv, Chris has been out of it since I woke 'im up this morning. Kept on saying 'e wasn't getting married today. I thought 'e was pissed. Wish I hadn't brought 'im 'ere, now."

"Not your fault. You didn't know."

"But why did 'e _do _it, Guv?"

Gene's face was set and grim. "That's what I mean to find out. Before I remove 'is kidneys an' roast 'em over an open fire, one by one, while 'e's still alive. Bugger off an' get everyone out of 'ere."

"Roger that, Guv." Ray backed away. With one exception, everyone was already heading for the doors. At last Gene was alone. He needed a drink, but as he reached into his empty pocket, he realised that the Grangers must have taken his hip flask with them. Muttering in annoyance, he was about to stride out of the church when he heard a sob from the front pew.

So he was not alone after all. One figure still sat there, her head bowed, her face hidden by her black hat.

His heart melted. In his rage against Chris, he had for a moment forgotten all the hopes he had cherished for the day. But maybe something could be salvaged from it after all. His gut instinct told him that she needed him, and he went where he was needed.

He slid into the seat beside her. "Bols. Don't cry. That's a order."

She did not move. "I'm not on duty, Guv, so I don't have to obey your orders."

He moved closer. "Now, if you don't stop cryin', I might even start feeling sorry for you. And God forbid, I might even 'ave to put a comforting arm around you."

His only answer was another, subdued sob. With uncharacteristic caution, he slid a long arm around her shoulder and drew her to him. He still half expected her to pull away, but she sank her head against his shoulder, as close as the hat allowed. His heart leapt.

"I - I thought - I did think - I did think Shaz would be allowed a happy ending." Her speech was staccato, but she was trying to pull herself together. "Even if nobody else is."

"Not even you?" He was astonished that he had the courage to ask the question.

She looked up. Her mascara had run, her face was streaked with tears, and she was so beautiful that he could hardly breathe.

"_Even_ me?" Her voice was very small, and she looked absurdly young and vulnerable.

Blue eyes met hazel with such intensity that both felt weak.

"Yes, er, why shouldn't you 'ave a happy ending too? Even if Shaz - that is, if there's anyone around who could - I mean - I - oh, bugger."

"Gene?" Her eyes shone through her tears.

"I love you," he admitted, with as much strain as if he were expelling a blockage from his windpipe. "Funny, innit?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?"

His face was inscrutable. "Your call."

"No, yours." She was damply radiant. "You see, I love you too. You arrogant, overbearing, bullying, insufferable, good, kind, decent man. I love you with all my heart."

He thought he would burst with happiness. "Come 'ere." He pulled her into his arms, ducked under her hat, and snogged her face off. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kisses as though he were a life support machine. When at last they had to come up for air, she drew back, scandalised.

"Gene, we can't. This is a _church_."

"Not just brides who get kissed in church." He tried to pull her in again, but she kept her distance.

"Gene, this isn't the time. Think of Shaz."

"Yeah, right on." Reluctantly, he released her. "But we'll come back for Round Two later."

Her lips curved into a smile which dazzled him. "Rounds Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and many more after that, I hope. But now, Shaz needs our help."

"Yeah. An' we have an investigation to run. Starting with finding Chris before the Grangers lynch 'im."

Her face darkened. "Do you love me enough to kill him for me?"

"Want to do it myself, an' we'll 'ave to join the queue. Shaz an' 'er Mum an' Dad want first crack."

"Gene, what on earth possessed him to do something like that? And what was he babbling about a man at her window?"

"My guess is that there was some sort of set-up, an' e' fell for it. I've sent Annie back to the Grangers' 'ouse to look for clues. I'd bet my tab at Luigi's that I know who's behind this, an' the initials are J.K."

"Keats?" She looked astonished, and then very wise. "Of course," she added, more to herself than to him. "Blackening reputations. Destroying lives. He hates the happy. But if Chris thought he saw Keats at Shaz's house, no wonder he went insane."

"Still could 'ave 'ad a quiet word with 'er instead of humiliating 'er in front of 'er family, friends and colleagues," Gene said remorselessly. "Anyway, we've got to find 'im an' get 'im to tell us why 'e went apeshit. He won't 'ave gone 'ome, he knows everyone'll be looking 'im there. He's got Ray's car, so 'e could be halfway to the coast by now. There's a radio in the Quattro. I'll get patrols out to look for 'im and the car."

Alex thought for a moment. "I think I know where he may have gone."

"Where?"

"I'd better not tell you. He'll run a mile if he sees you coming. Leave me to deal with this."

He looked smug. "Sometimes, your lack of faith in me seriously disappoints me, DI Drake."

"Yes, and look what happened when I wanted to interview Gaynor. You ended up with a knee in the - "

He looked pained. "Don't mention it. An' Chris won't try that on, not with the shit 'e's in already." He pulled the neatly folded linen handkerchief from his top pocket and handed it to her. "Come on, mop up an' we'll be off. You nick Mr Bastard Bridegroom, an' I'll fire up the Quattro. I'll put the patrol cars out, in case you're wrong."

"Yes." She dried her eyes. "I'll meet you back at the station. Wait for word from Annie, and look in at Luigi's. If any of the guests there stayed at the house last night, they may have seen or heard something." She handed the handkerchief back, damp and stained with mascara and makeup. "Sorry, I've made a mess of it."

"No worries," he said gruffly, and stowed it away with undue care. Somehow he knew that he was going to keep it, unwashed, as a precious memento of the day he won his Bolly, and he knew that she knew it, too. Trying to cover his embarrassment, he stood and helped her to her feet.

They walked up the aisle, hand in hand. Although neither would say it, they didn't want to part, even for a short time, just when they had found one another. In the entrance they stopped, and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and passionately. He released her, her hat askew and her hair tousled, uncomfortably aware that there might be a lipstick mark just beside his mouth.

"See you later, Bolly."

"See you, Gene."

"Ahem!"

They both started like guilty things, and turned to see Father Francis, standing in front of the altar and beaming at them. Gene turned pillar-box red, muttered, "Sorry, padre," and fled, dragging Alex after him. Her peal of laughter echoed back into the church.

The priest smiled knowingly. "Business, ah, _business_!"

**TBC**


	4. Evidence

**A/N I own neither Ashes to Ashes nor Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".**

**So sorry, everyone, I last updated this story so long ago that most of you have probably forgotten it. The rest of it has been written, but in the series of awfulnesses that have overtaken my existence, I just haven't had any time for posting. I hope that at least some of you haven't lost interest and will read this chapter now – and, as always, feedback would be so very welcome.**

**As it's been so long since I posted, here's a brief recap of Chapters 1-3:**

**This story is AU, in that it's set during the long gap between Series 3, episodes 3 and 4, but Chris and Shaz are still engaged and Annie has not yet gone to the pub. In the run-up to Chris and Shaz's wedding, Alex and Gene are at daggers drawn. Their conflict has, of course, been exacerbated by Keats. Shaz longs to bring them together, and Annie, in London for the wedding, is inspired by a newspaper advert for Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" to copy the plot of the play by arranging for Gene to overhear Chris and Shaz talking about how desperately Alex loves him, and for Alex to overhear Shaz and Annie talking about how desperately Gene loves her. It works like a charm. Unfortunately Keats, who also saw the newspaper advert, copies the play's other main plot to break up Chris and Shaz by making Chris believe that Shaz is sleeping with Keats. Matters come to a head at the wedding, where the distraught Chris accuses Shaz of being unfaithful and storms out. Gene, guessing that Chris has been tricked, tells Annie to accompany the Grangers home and see if she can find any clues as to what happened. He and Alex are left alone in the church, and the stresses of the situation make them confess their love for one another at last. Now Gene is returning to the station to await word from Annie while Alex goes in search of Chris…**

At the Grangers' house, Annie was a calm rock amid a sea of angry, bewildered relatives and bridesmaids. Under her directions, Mr Granger and one of the uncles carried Shaz up to her bedroom, and everyone crowded in after them with offers of help.

_Damn. If there's any evidence here, we'll lose it, with everyone trampling all over the place._

"Please, everyone, leave this to us. I'm trained in nursing care. Shaz needs quiet and rest, and she can't possibly have that with so many people in here. Mrs Granger and - Ursula, isn't it? - will you help me with her? Mr Granger, can you please take everyone else downstairs. I'll tell you how she is, as soon as possible."

Mr Granger was so dazed by grief and shock that he allowed a woman whom he barely knew to take charge in his own house. "Come on, all of you. You heard the lady. Margaret." He turned to another of the bridesmaids. "Can you help me make tea for them?"

"Of course, Uncle Leo. We'll _all_ help."

They trooped out, and while Annie helped Mrs Granger to undress Shaz, she glanced around the room, looking for clues. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The sash window was partly open, but that might have been done at any time during the day. The rug in front of it was disarranged, but the place had been full of women in long, sweeping skirts.

There was an empty mug on the bedside table. Annie took a tissue from her handbag, wrapped it around the handle, picked up the mug, and took a long sniff.

Ursula was at her elbow. "Would you like me to get her some water?"

"Yes, please, but don't use this. It's dirty." Ursula hurried out.

Mrs Granger had ceased her ministrations and looked anxiously at Annie. "Is something wrong?"

Annie bent over Shaz. "Shaz, did you drink Horlicks before you went to bed last night? In this mug?"

Shaz looked as surprised as she could, through her massive grief and exhaustion. "Yes."

"Did you make it yourself?"

"No, I found it when I came to bed. Mum left it for me."

Mrs Granger frowned. "No, I didn't, dear. I know you've been trying to keep your weight down, to fit into, into the dress. Anyway, I'd have used your usual mug, the one with a policeman on it that Ch - that _he _gave you."

"What?" Shaz struggled to get her brain into gear. "I thought it must have been you. Who did leave it, then?"

"That's what I want to find out," Annie said gravely. "It might have tasted like Horlicks at the time, but now it smells of something else too. Opium."

"_What?_" Shaz and her mother both exploded.

"I'm sorry, both of you, but I think Shaz was drugged last night." Mrs Granger sank heavily onto the bed. "Which means that someone could have got into her room and later climbed out of the window, witnessed by Chris, without her knowing anything about it."

"Oh, my poor little girl..." Mrs Granger moaned, clinging to Shaz. "But who'd do a thing like that?"

"Whoever it was that Chris saw, I'm afraid. Someone who wanted to break them up. And he succeeded."

Shaz looked up at Annie. "Do you think it could have been Keats?"

"Who's that?" Mrs Granger said sharply.

"The most vindictive person Shaz and I know," Annie said drily. "That was my hunch too, Shaz, but we don't have any proof yet. Chris didn't give us a name. I'll get a forensic team to check this room out."

"But how could he have got in?" Mrs Granger wailed.

"Judging by the fact that he must have taken the mug from the kitchen, he may have gained entry earlier in the day and hidden until everyone was in bed. Was the house empty at any point yesterday?"

Shaz thought for a moment. Her policing instincts were taking over and helping to swamp her pain. "No, but with so many visitors around, don't you think he might have slipped in somehow? I'm the only one here who knows him. If anyone else spotted him, they might have taken him for another guest. I saw that the patio doors were open, when the girls and I came back from the dressmakers', around five. And I was very sleepy this morning." She shuddered at the thought of being in a drugged sleep and at Keats's mercy.

Ursula returned with a glass in her hand. "Here's the water, Mrs Tyler."

"Thank you." Annie took it and gave it to Shaz. "Shaz, you need to rest, but I must put this room out of bounds until Forensics have checked it out. Mrs Granger, is there anywhere else she can lie down?"

"Our bedroom." Mrs Granger rose resolutely. "That man can't have been in there, unless he drugged me and her Dad as well."

"Thank you. Once we've put Shaz to bed, will you let me use your phone, please? Preferably where I can't be overheard."

"Of course. Take the kitchen extension."

"Thanks. I'll need to call the station, and then I'll talk to the guests while I'm waiting. Ursula, dear, please guard the door of this room and don't let anyone in until I say so."

Ursula was saucer-eyed. "Yes, Mrs Tyler, but why?"

"Because this bedroom is a crime scene."

-oO0Oo-

Chris sat on the bench beside the Thames, watching the flowing water as it sparkled in the sunlight. Passing kids whistled and catcalled, mocking his morning suit and white buttonhole. He paid them no heed.

He had nowhere to go. He still had Ray's car, but would only be able to take it as far as the petrol in the tank would last. He had no money or credit cards on him, as they had not been in his pocket when Ray loaded him into his suit, and Ray had locked up and pocketed the keys when they had left his flat that morning. The landlord was away for the weekend, so he had no hope of obtaining a duplicate. In any case, even in his current distracted state, he knew that if he returned home, he might be lynched.

He had never felt so alone in his life, not even when he had confessed his treachery to the Boss and the Guv. The full enormity of what he had done, was breaking in upon him. He had ruined everything. He would never be able to face any of them again. But after what he had seen last night, what else could he have done? Shaz and Keats had destroyed his life, before he had spoken out in the church.

He had expected that by now, he and Shaz would be driving to the airport for their honeymoon. Instead, he was looking at the bleak expanse of years stretching ahead of him, without the woman he loved, his friends, his job. He would have to resign from the Force. If he transferred, the story of this morning would follow him wherever he went.

He wanted to run and hide. But where could he go, when his world had come to an end?

"Why did you do it, Chris?"

The voice spoke gently, more in sorrow than in anger, but it made him jump as violently as if the Guv had been bawling him out. His eyes nearly started from his head as Alex sat down beside him. Her hat shaded her face from the sun, but he could feel the grief, anger and pity in her eyes.

"Boss! How - how did you know I was here?"

She smiled sadly. "Oh, you'd be surprised how often members of CID come here to sort out their lives. I once sat here with Shaz."

At the mention of Shaz's name, he twitched in agony, as though he had received an electric shock. She looked at him keenly.

"After this morning, don't you think you owe everyone an explanation for your behaviour?"

Her voice was sterner now, and he knew what he should do, but he flinched from it.

"I - I can't, Boss. Can't go back. Can't face them. Any of them."

"Not even if I walk in with you?"

He winced at the echo of her words, the day after he had been unmasked as a traitor. But this was different. "No, Boss, no. I can't. Just - can't."

"Well, it doesn't look to me as though you've got a choice," she said crisply.

"Boss?"

"Christopher Skelton, you are under arrest on suspicion of taking and driving away Raymond Carling's car. You have the right to remain silent, but - "

"It's all right, Boss." He looked weary, but also deeply relieved that the decision had been taken from him. "I know 'ow it goes. I'll come quietly."

They both rose. "Where's the car?"

He turned around and pointed. "There."

"Keys?"

He took them from his pocket and put them into her outstretched hand. She gently took him by the arm, drew him over to the car, and unlocked it. "I'll drive. You sit in the back."

He nodded miserably. They got in, and she started the ignition. Reaching into the glove box, she found a radio and switched it on.

"DI Drake here. Guv, are you there?"

The beloved voice crackled over the air waves. "Loud an' clear, Drakey. What 'ave you got for me, then?"

His voice dripped with suggestiveness, but she chose to misunderstand him. Chris was with her, and goodness knew who else might be listening in. "I've arrested DC Skelton for taking DI Carling's car, and I'm bringing him and the car back to the station. Tell Ray there isn't a scratch on his motor."

"That'll make 'im a happy bunny. I'm at the station already. See you soon. Out."

No sooner had Gene put his radio down, than his phone rang.

"Hunt."

"Annie here, Guv. I'm at the Grangers', and I've discovered something potentially suspicious."

"What's that?"

"An empty mug in Shaz's bedroom. It was left for her last night, full of Horlicks. She drank it thinking that her mother had left it, but her mother denies all knowledge, and the residue smells like opium. Shaz confirms that she was very sleepy this morning."

"Bloody 'ell, that could explain a lot."

"I'd like Forensics to check the bedroom and kitchen, and I'll interview everyone here to see if they saw anything suspicious yesterday. The forensic boys can collect the mug and take it back to the lab when they're finished here."

"Team'll be on their way as soon as a roar from the Lion can get 'em there, an' don't say I never give you anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Guv." Annie sounded impossibly demure. "I'll talk to you later. Goodbye."

-oO0Oo-

About a quarter of an hour later, Alex shepherded a reluctant Chris through the entrance of Fenchurch East. Viv, on the desk, gave Chris a look which conveyed that he regarded him as a lower form of life than an amoeba with special needs. It did not betoken well for what CID would say and do.

Alex greeted him with some surprise. "Viv? I thought you'd been at the wedding." Behind her, she heard Chris sob.

"I was, Ma'am, but when Ray got us back here, I found Steve had gone home sick, so I volunteered to take over his shift. Didn't fancy going to the piss-up at Luigi's, not in these circumstances." His voice had the chill of a chest freezer.

"Understandable." Alex's voice was equally chilly. "Could you put the prisoner here into Interview Room One, please? The Guv and I want to talk to him about a car theft - and certain other matters."

"Right away, Ma'am. You." He deigned to address Chris for the first time. "Come with me."

Chris nodded wretchedly and followed him without a word. Alex swept along the corridor and through the double doors into the main office. She had expected that the skeleton staff on duty would demand an account from her of the morning's events, but they kept their heads down. She guessed that Gene had banned discussion of the subject for Shaz's sake.

She tapped at Gene's door and walked in. He stood, his face glowing at the sight of her. "Pull the blind down."

She complied and walked over to him, and he caught her in a fierce embrace, with a kiss of such force that it took her breath away.

"Good gracious, Guv!" She carefully removed her hat and laid it on the desk. "Do you always greet your DIs like this?"

"Depends who the DI is." His expression was almost impossibly lascivious. "What did you expect? I 'aven't seen you for _two whole hours_."

"You used to be able to put up with not seeing me for a lot longer than that."

He looked at the ground. "Yeah, well, that was before I knew - y'know - before I knew 'ow we felt about each other. Different now."

"It certainly is." She stroked his arm. "So, how did you first work out that you love me?"

That stumped him for a moment. He did not want to admit that he had been eavesdropping on Chris and Shaz. "I sat down an' thought about what a daft tart you are, an' all the many, many different ways you drive me Harpic - "

"Harpic?"

"Clean round the bend."

"Oh."

"_As _I was saying, I thought of all those many, many ways." He took her hand between his and looked into her eyes. "An' I realised that I couldn't live without a single one of 'em. How about you?"

It was her turn to look at the ground. "It - it was meeting Annie. Hearing her talk about old times in Manchester, hearing how she admires and trusts you."

"_Trust_." He let all the resonances of the word, and its reminders of their disastrous quarrel before Operation Rose, hang in the air.

She looked up at him. "Ever since I came round from my coma, I'd felt so lost, so alone. I didn't know whom to believe. I even - God pardon me, I even suspected you."

"Yeah. Tyler." His face was flinty and his eyes were like blue glass.

"I know now, how wrong I've been. Annie made me see that. I've decided to trust you. Oh, Gene, can you ever forgive me?"

She could see the effort it cost him to answer. She wished that she had not raised the subject, but it had needed to be said, to remove the last barrier between them.

"Adrift," he said at last. "You felt adrift. Just as I did when we found out that Chris was a traitor. I should 'ave trusted you then, an' didn't. Just as you should 'ave trusted me now, an' didn't. We're even now, Bols. Can live with that."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't deserve your forgivenness, but thank you."

"Think nothing of it. I never asked you to forgive me for shooting you."

"That was an accident, and we both know it," she said quickly. "And you were trying to save my life at the time."

He sat on the edge of the desk and held out his hand to her. She sat beside him, and he curled his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder and her hand upon his chest, feeling how his great heart throbbed with joy.

"We'll still row as much as ever," he said, after a short silence. "You know that?"

She recognised his desire to steer away from a painful subject. It would take them time to work through this, she knew. Time and care and patience. But now they had one another and their shared trust and love. And, God willing, they would have time.

"Oh, absolutely. _Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably_," she quoted.

"Eh?" He looked at her, frowning.

"Don't worry, it's only Shakespeare. _Much Ado About Nothing. _I saw it at the Barbican lately."

"Come again?"

"A comedy about two pairs of lovers, one of whom - Good God!"

"What's up?"

"One pair are split up at their wedding by a wicked plot, just like Chris and Shaz today. And the other..." Her mind was racing as she remembered overhearing Annie and Shaz, just like Beatrice overhearing Hero and Ursula in the play. "No, I'll tell you later. For now, we've got to concentrate on finding out who set Chris up."

"Talking of Chris, where 'ave you put 'im?"

"I got Viv to park him in Interview Room One. I left Ray's car outside."

"Good. I 'ad a word with 'im to tell 'im the car's okay, 'e's boozing at Luigi's with the rest of the lads. The rest of the guests 'ave peeled off, but he 'ad a word with 'em first. Turns out none of 'em had stayed at the Granger 'omestead last night. Some of 'em had dropped by to 'and in a present, but that was all. An' Annie's phoned. Shaz is okay, an' she's sleeping it off. But Annie's found something."

"Did she say what it was?"

"Yeah, a mug 'ad been left in Shaz's room, an' nobody knows who left it. Annie thinks there's opium in the residue."

"Good God!" Alex was appalled. "That would explain how someone could get in and out of her window without her knowing."

"Yeah, it does. We'll find out more when Annie an' the forensics lads get back. In the meantime, let's interview the only known witness. Toerag Skelton."

Gene blasted into the interview room like the Charge of the Light Brigade, with Alex in his wake. Chris sat, huddled and whimpering, in his chair. Alex was irresistibly reminded of the terrible night when they interviewed him after discovering his treachery.

"Right, you turd on the toe of the boot of humanity!" Gene threw himself into his chair and slammed his fist onto the table, so violently that even Alex jumped. "Start talking."

"I'm sorry," Chris whimpered. "So sorry."

Alex took her seat beside Gene. "You still haven't answered the question I asked you, when I found you by the river. Why did you do it?"

"I - I'm sorry..."

Alex's voice was calm and gentle, but stern. "Tell us the whole story, right from the beginning."

Chris stared into space. "Yesterday afternoon. I was in the kitchen making a cuppa, an' DCI Keats came in."

"_Keats._" Gene spoke the name with as much revulsion as if he were mentioning United.

"Yes, Guv. He - he said 'e'd 'ad a tip-off that some South London scum knew where Shaz lives an' was planning a strike against 'er last night."

"So, why didn't you come to me?" Gene radiated hurt and betrayal.

"He - he said you wouldn't trust the information because it was his. And that's true. You _don't_ trust 'im, Guv."

"About as far as I could throw Giant Haystacks. For good an' sufficient reasons. Go on."

"He said, if I kept an eye on the place between ten and two last night, he'd take over after that an' mop up the operation while we were on honeymoon." A tear stole down his face. "So I waited outside the house from ten onwards. At just gone one-ten, Shaz's window opened an' Keats climbed out."

"Tally-_ho_!" Gene muttered.

"He was talking to 'er, saying - saying 'ow many times they'd been together, an' that 'e knew she'd always feel the same about 'im, even after she was married, an' that they'd be together again as soon as we got back from honeymoon." He began to shake at the memory. "He jumped out an' ran off before I could stop 'im. I ran too. Had to get away from 'er. From all of it." He looked pleadingly at Alex. "I wasn't going to go to the wedding this morning, but Ray dragged me in, an' when I saw 'er, I snapped. I'm sorry..." He broke down again.

"And you humiliated 'er in front of everyone," Gene said heavily. "You didn't give 'er a chance to defend 'erself. You broke a girl's heart. A young girl. A good kid. A fine officer. Brave. Honest. An' _you_ - " He jumped to his feet, his fist raised, but Alex seized his arm and drew him back into his chair.

"But what could she 'ave said, Guv?" Chris said wildly. "He was there, I saw 'im, but she wouldn't admit it!"

"Did you see Shaz when Keats was at the window?" Alex said gently. "Did you hear her voice?"

"N-no," Chris admitted. "He told 'er to stay where she was."

"So we don't know whether she was actually there?" Alex pursued. "Or whether she knew Keats was there?"

Chris looked horrified. "No, but - "

"Didn't it occur to you," Gene said heavily, "even to _you_, how odd it was that Keats should tell you to be there, so you'd catch 'im in the act? Don't you think that if 'e was really 'aving it off with Shaz, he'd go to great lengths to make sure you _wouldn't_ know? Didn't it occur to you that you might be being _set up_, you retarded garden gnome?"

Chris buried his face in his hands. "Oh, God..."

Gene stood, towering over his wretched underling. "An' now it may be too late."

"I know," Chris wailed. "She'll never speak to me again, never..."

"I didn't mean that." Gene had rarely looked or sounded so grim. "Shaz is missing from 'er parents' 'ouse, an' I 'ad a call from Fenchurch West an hour ago. The body of a girl in a white dress 'as been fished out of the Thames."

"Oh, my God!" Chris howled. "What if it's Shaz?"

"What?" Alex said at the same moment, and Gene gestured to her to be silent.

"That is what Drake an' I are going to find out. We've been asked to ID 'er." He strode to the door, with Alex close behind him. "An' in the meantime, you useless waste of space, you are staying under lock an' key!"

Chris looked up, wild-eyed. "Guv, please, let me come with you - "

"NO!"

Chris jumped to his feet and tried to make for the door, but he cannoned into Gene's midsection. Gene grabbed him and threw him to the ground, and by the time he had scrambled to his knees, Gene and Alex were in the corridor and the key was turned upon him. He threw himself at the door, beating at it feebly with his fists until he sank into a heap, moaning, "Shaz... Shaz... Shaz..."

"What the hell was all that about?" Alex demanded, as they walked down the corridor. "You told me Shaz is all right!"

Gene stopped and turned to face her. "You know that, Bolly, an' I know it. But Fenchurch West _did _call me today to ask for help with ID'ing a body from the Thames. Of course it isn't Shaz. She's safe at 'ome." He jerked his head towards the interview room, where they could hear Chris still sobbing. "But for what 'e did this morning, don't you think this is the least, the very _least_ 'e deserves?"

"Maybe you're right," she conceded. "After all, Claudio is told that Hero's dead."

"_Who?_"

"_Much Ado_ again."

"Oh."

They reached the desk, and Gene gave the interview room key to Viv. "Skip, take DC Skelton back to the cells. No need to make 'im comfortable. You may need reinforcements, 'e's a desperate man."

"Right away, Guv. Annie's looking for you. She has a witness with her. I've put them in Interview Room Two."

"Ta, Skip. Bols, with me."

They entered the room to be greeted by Annie and a pretty, poised girl whom Alex recognised as the youngest of the three bridesmaids.

"Guv, this is Josette Simmons. She was staying with the Grangers last night."

"Pleased to meet you, love." Gene took a chair and motioned Alex to the other. "I'm DCI Hunt, this is DI Drake. What 'ave you got to tell us?"

Josette looked very shy. "I had to go back to the office yesterday after my final dress fitting. I'm with a big City trader, and I had a lot of work to finish up last night. All of us bridesmaids were staying at the Grangers' to save time in the morning, we were sharing the spare room. I arrived there at about eight o'clock. Just as I approached the house, I thought I saw a man in a raincoat in the alley at the side, but I looked again and he wasn't there. It was quite dark by then, and I decided I must have been imagining it, or that it was a neighbour taking a short cut. But there's a door to the Grangers' garden in that alley, and now I'm wondering whether I saw him getting in."

"Shaz says that the patio doors were open earlier in the day," Annie put in. "Her father has confirmed that he didn't lock them until he went to bed at ten."

"Could you describe this bloke for us, love?"

Josette thought for a moment. "He was tall, pale face, dark hair, glasses."

"Any of these?" Gene spread a selection of photos in front of her. Most of them were of known criminals, but one was of a colleague. She pored over them for some time while Gene tapped his fingers impatiently, before eventually picking one up and handing it to him.

"I can't be sure, but it looks most _like _this one."

Gene beamed. "Thanks, love. Would you give us a statement before you leave?"

"Of course." She rose. "You will get the man who did this to Shaz, won't you?"

"Rest assured. I can already feel the villain's conkers nestling in the palm of my hand."

Annie handed Josette over to Bammo to take her statement, and joined Gene and Alex in his office, where he updated her on what they had learned from Chris.

"So now we know it was Keats. Thanks to your little friend we know when an' how 'e got into the house, an' we're waiting for proof that 'e drugged Shaz."

"She's given a blood sample, but the stuff from the mug may have cleared from her system by now, and I'm afraid Forensics weren't having much luck when I left," Annie said apologetically. "No fingerprints. He must have kept his gloves on while he was in the house. No footprints in the garden either. It would help if we had something to tie him to the house, but - "

"But at present we 'aven't got it," Gene grumbled.

"We have the IDs from Chris and Josette," Alex said soothingly.

"Yeah, but that's not enough to hang 'im. He'll claim it was mistaken identity, or someone disguised as 'im who was out to discredit 'im. Especially as he'd told Chris to be there. You know 'im, Bols, he'll find a way to weasel out of it, specially once 'e gets a good lawyer. Or rather a bad one."

"So, what do we do?" Alex said gloomily.

Gene reached for a bottle. "For the moment, 'ave a Scotch an' see what else the boys in overalls bring us. They may deliver us Keats in a body bag yet. An' later, I can think of plenty of things for us to do." He favoured Alex with a smouldering glance, only to look away, embarrassed, as he saw Annie's delighted, knowing gaze. To conceal his confusion, he handed her a glass. "Whisky, Flash Knickers?"

TBC


	5. Nicked

**A/N: I still own neither "Ashes to Ashes" nor Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing". Unfortunately.**

**I'm so, SO sorry about the long delay in publishing this chapter. Life has been very busy since I posted Chapter 4, and there just hasn't been any time for posting. For those who've forgotten the story to date, there's a recap of Chapters 1-3 at the beginning of Chapter 4, and here's a recap of Chapter 4:**

**Chris has told Gene and Alex how he saw Keats climbing out of Shaz's bedroom window the night before the wedding, and a bridesmaid has witnessed that she saw someone resembling Keats getting into the Grangers' garden earlier in the day. Annie has found a mug in Shaz's bedroom with traces of opium and realised that she was drugged. But they have no forensic evidence to confirm that Keats was in the house…**

**Reviews would mean so much to me, and I'll restart "The Beginning of an Era" as soon as possible!**

Luigi heaved a profound sigh as he trudged out to the bins. He was not a happy man. Today should have been so special for two of his favourite customers. It was to have been the happiest day of their lives, but it had been a total and complete disaster. CID, furiously indignant to a man, had given him lurid accounts of the calamity in the church that morning. He had expected to host a joyful wedding party, and instead he had had the usual bunch of boozed-up coppers, who were too intent on drowning their sorrows to pay any attention to the food he had so lovingly prepared for the newlyweds and their guests. All his beautiful canapés would have to be wasted. But all this was nothing compared to his fury when he thought of the lovely Shaz and her desperate grief. He would never forgive Signor Skelton for jilting her.

He was about to heave a binbag full of food into the nearest bin when he heard the voice of his least favourite customer, in the alley beside him. He quickly guessed that the speaker must be in the phone box. The one with a pane missing. He listened intently.

"Chief Superintendent Nick Callahan, please. Yes, Abbie, it _is_ important, so please drag him out of whatever meeting or cocktail party he's attending, and tell him that DCI Keats needs to talk to him urgently."

A babble of indecipherable female chatter at the other end of the line.

"My good girl, or rather my _bad_ girl, I wouldn't be phoning him at this hour on a Saturday unless it was very important indeed. I'm taking a considerable personal risk in making this call at all. You can tell him that I'm reporting on the outcome of Operation Skelton Granger. That should drag him off his comfortable sofa."

More feminine chatter.

"Yes, yes, I'll wait, but fetch him at once or I'll demote you. And I can assure you that you won't like that _at all_." The light, charming voice suddenly became a snarl which made Luigi shudder. He carefully put the binbag down, making as little noise as possible, stole inside, picked up the tape recorder which lay on a table in his office, and crept out through the connecting gate into the alley. Keeping in the shadows, he pressed the Record button. He had a nasty moment as Keats looked around, tapping one foot impatiently, but then a voice came onto the other end and Keats gave it his full attention.

"Hello, Sir. I do apologise for calling you at this hour, but it simply hasn't been possible for me to report to you before, and I knew that you wanted me to give you an update at the first opportunity... Oh, I've had a terrible day. Since last night, I haven't dared go home or stay in one place for very long in case that young fool Skelton finds me and takes his revenge. Not that I wouldn't be more than a match for him, of course... I had to kip down in my car last night, would you believe. Drove it out to the sticks and slept under a rug in the back seat. Today, I've been driving around from place to place, filling up with petrol whenever I need to.

"Yes, that does mean I was _very_ successful, Sir." A light laugh. "Would you like the full gory details now?" Luigi silently prayed that Callahan would. "Well, yesterday afternoon I dropped a hint to the gullible Skelton that his sweet Shaz might be in danger from a South London villain with a score to settle. He fell for it like a ton of bricks. Really, Sir, I'd never expected it to be so easy, even with him.

"Having got his undertaking that he would watch his intended's house from ten till two, I made it my business to get into the house before he arrived. Luckily there's a side gate to the garden which yielded to the gentle persuasion of a credit card, and thanks to the warmth of the evening the patio doors were open. I hid behind a large rose bush in the garden - disastrous to the state of my coat, Sir - and watched for a moment when the living room was clear for me to steal inside. I could hear that the inhabitants were having supper in the kitchen, so I went to ground in a broom cupboard beneath the stairs. If the Grangers didn't keep it so clean, I'd have been covered in cobwebs.

"While the inhabitants were getting ready for bed, I contrived to steal into the kitchen, make up a mug of Horlicks and add my own special ingredient... Opium, sir. Not too much, or she wouldn't have woken up this morning, and that would have given the game away. Just enough to make her sleep very soundly through the night. With a bit of hide-and-seek, I managed to get upstairs undetected and place the mug on her bedside table while she was in the bathroom. How did I know where she was, Sir? I heard her voice. No, I didn't peek. _Certainly_ not.

"At the first opportunity, I returned to the refuge of my broom cupboard and remained there until I was satisfied that everyone been in bed for well over an hour. I stole back upstairs and entered her room, to find her fast asleep and the mug empty. The band of the Coldstream Guards wouldn't have awakened her.

"It was time for my masterpiece. I opened the window and climbed out onto the ledge. Knowing that Skelton would be watching and listening, I carried on a one-sided dialogue over my shoulder, which made it quite clear even to his pygmy intellect that his Shaz and I had been lovers for some time, that her impending marriage would change nothing between us, and that she and I would be together again at the first opportunity. I assure you, Sir, I could almost hear him imploding with rage. Then I closed the window, jumped to the ground - a good thing I'm so fit, isn't it, Sir? - and made good my escape.

"I hadn't been invited to the wedding, but I made a point of turning up half an hour after it was to have taken place. The church was deserted except for a verger, who told me in no uncertain terms how the whole thing had been called off following an extraordinary outburst by the bridegroom.

"A successful result, I think you'll agree, Sir. What's that? Well, yes, I could have "had" WPC Granger, as you put it. I could have taken my time, the silly chit was out for the count. But to be honest, Sir, I couldn't be bothered. She just isn't my type... Pardon? What is my type? Oh, that would be telling, Sir. Well, if you insist, I have to admit that it's one of her senior colleagues who fuels my nightly fantasies. Yes, DI Drake does it for me, every time..."

Luigi had heard enough. He advanced upon the telephone box, flung the door open, and raised the tape recorder above his head with both hands. Keats half-turned around with a cry, but he was not quick enough. He was young and strong, but he was no match for a middle-aged Italian restauranteur with rage in his heart and righteousness in his arm. The tape recorder came crashing down upon Keats's head, and he crumpled to the floor of the telephone box. The Record button clicked up.

"_Male notte_, Signor Keats," Luigi murmured.

-oO0Oo-

A few minutes later, Viv was astonished to be interrupted in the middle of his crossword by an extremely excited Luigi, still wearing his sparkly jacket and brandishing a cassette tape.

"Hello, Luigi, what can I do for you?"

"Signor James, I need your help. I have made a citizen's arrest, but he is unconscious and I require assistance to carry him into the station."

Viv put his pen down and leaned across the desk. "Can you let me know what this arrested person was doing?"

"It is Signor Keats."

"Oh?" Viv blazed with curiosity.

"Yes, I overheard him in the telephone box. He was speaking of his wicked plot against Signora Granger and Signor Skelton. I have evidence." He waved the cassette. "I must speak to Signor Hunt immediately. But first, please come and get Signor Keats, or he may recover consciousness and escape."

A smile spread across Viv's face from ear to ear. "It'll be a pleasure."

-oO0Oo-

"Luigi, you may serve the worst 'ouse rubbish in London to long-suffering coppers, but you are a star of the first magnitude," Gene declared. "I'm going to make you a Special Constable, attached to this station."

"Grazie, Signor Hunt, but it was no more than a matter of being in the right place at the right time," Luigi said modestly.

Gene, Alex, Annie, Luigi and Viv were all squeezed into Gene's office to hear Luigi's account and listen to the tape. It was a tight fit, and Gene and Alex had to sit very close together in order to accommodate everyone, something which was not lost on the other three. Even the fact that Gene had just been using the tape recorder on which he had played the tape which had sparked his terrible quarrel with Alex before Operation Rose, could not dampen the general mood of triumph.

"Er, Gene, I hate to say this," Alex said cautiously, "but will the tape be admissible as evidence in court?"

"Whether it is or not, we'll 'ave Luigi's witness statement for Keats's call, an' Chris an' the bridesmaid bird put 'im at the scene. Plus we can now tell Forensics where to look for evidence. We've got enough to nail Mr Pencil Neck. Where did you put 'im, Viv?"

Viv looked radiantly satisfied with the situation. "He's in Cell Three, Sir."

"The one that permanently stinks of sick? Good man."

"I got the medics to look him over. His glasses are broken, and he'll have a sore head when he comes round, but otherwise he'll be OK."

"Pity." Gene looked around the group. "Luigi, give Bammo your statement, an' make it a good 'un. Then you can bugger off back to your dive an' tell anyone who's still over there what's 'appened. Annie, phone the Grangers' 'ouse an' get Forensics to check the broom cupboard an' the rose bushes in the garden. Talk to Shaz's Mum an' Dad. Get 'em to bring Shaz 'ere, if she's well enough. Want to tell 'em about this in person, not over the phone. Skip, keys to the cells. I'm paying someone a little visit."

"Which someone?" Alex said suspiciously.

"Jimbo, who else? Stop looking at me like that, Bolly, I'm not going to soil my fists with 'im."

"Well, _that'll_ be a first. But shouldn't we tell Chr - "

"Nope. Leave 'im to stew for a bit longer."

"Gene, we know now how cruelly he was set up. You've let him think Shaz may be dead. He's in despair. We must tell him."

"_No_. Not yet. We're leaving 'im undisturbed 'til Shaz an' 'er parents arrive."

"But - "

"Bolly, you aren't the only psychiatrist in this place."

"_Psychologist_."

"Whatever. If we tell 'im she's okay, in the state 'e's in, 'e won't believe us. If we can show 'im, 'e'll have to."

_And the sight of Chris's despair might actually make Shaz forgive him_. _You're so much more perceptive than I thought. You wonderful, amazing man._

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"We've got someone to interview. Oh, Bolly, I am going to enjoy this."

-oO0Oo-

"Wakey, wakey, Jimbo!" Gene switched the light on in Cell Three and shook the miserable heap lying on the hard bed. Keats whimpered, felt gingerly at the sore patch on his scalp, and opened his eyes. He flinched away from the bright light shining into them. Gene's shadow loomed across him. He tried to sit up, but failed.

"Hunt! What the devil is going on?"

"Just what I was going to ask you." Gene's gloating triumph was almost indecent. "I want a word with you, Sunny Jim. Anything _you_ want?"

Keats screwed his eyes up against the radiant, cleansing light. "I want to get out of here, I want my glasses back, I want a lawyer, and I want that fat Italian idiot's head on a plate with an apple in his mouth!"

Gene shook his head sympathetically. " 'Fraid I can't 'elp you with any of those at the moment." He waved the cassette tape in his hand. "Y'see, it's all a matter of evidence."

Keats groaned.

-oO0Oo-

"Why did you do it, Sir?" Alex said gently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Keats blustered. "I'm being detained against my will, and I refuse to say a single word without a lawyer present!"

"There are witnesses to place you at the scene, and a statement from a witness who heard you telling your superior officer the whole sordid story. How do you think this will look for D and C when it becomes public? You break into a colleague's house, drug her, and deceive her fiancé into thinking that you're having an affair with her."

"Won't look very good on the CV, will it, Jimbo?" Gene added with relish.

"No comment."

Alex took up the tale again. "The evidence against you is overwhelming. Tell us now, and it will be better for everyone."

"No comment. I want to make a phone call."

"Who to, your lawyer?" Gene radiated menace.

"No, to my Chief Superintendent."

"Not bloody likely. Callahan's in this with you. Luigi's statement confirms that."

"Chief Superintendent Callahan has the ear of the Assistant Commissioner. You won't be allowed to forget this outrage, Hunt."

"Nor will you, you pathetic, lily-livered, pencil-necked, pen-pushing, tale-bearing, head-hunting, slandering, corrupt apology for a police officer."

"You're in D and C," Alex said calmly. "You know how it goes when there's a complaint against a police officer. Once you're charged and it all goes public, your career will be in ruins. We go by the book, here at Fenchurch East. No exceptions, just because of whom someone knows."

"An' that includes the funny handshake brigade," Gene added at random.

Keats looked as defiant as he could, with his glasses sellotaped together and a cotton wool pad bandaged to his head. "I've already told you. I'm saying nothing without a lawyer. And when I get out of here, I'll sue you for wrongful arrest and defamation of character."

"A bit rich, that, seeing how you defamed poor Shaz," Alex said acidly. "An innocent young woman who has never done you any harm."

"You're as bad as he is, DI Drake," Keats snarled. "I thought you were the best of them. It turns out I was wrong. You've allowed yourself to be duped by Hunt, just like the others."

"_No_." Alex's voice rang out confidently. "You are the one who duped me. I know that now. Annie showed me the truth. You've lost your power over me, Keats." She stood, took Gene's hand, lifted him to his feet, and pulled him into a long, passionate kiss. Their arms curled around each other as though they would never let go.

Keats was fizzing with rage. "You're in this together. This will be the end of both your careers once I'm out of here. You, Alex, Hunt's little floozy? I never thought you'd stoop so low."

"For your information, Jim, I'm not," Alex answered from within the sanctuary of Gene's arms. "Not yet, but I hope I soon will be. And that won't be stooping low. It will be reaching higher than in my wildest dreams."

Keats hissed uncontrollably.

"Shut up, Jimbo, or get a new job as a steam valve." Gene glowed with triumph. "You'd better get your mate, old Nick, to transfer you a long, long way away from 'ere. You're finished at this station. Everyone 'ere's seen through you like a tart's knickers."

Keats seemed incapable of coherent speech.

"Right, James, 'ave it your way. You'll spend tonight in Cell Three, an' tomorrow we'll find a lawyer who's willing to turn out on a Sunday for a corrupt D an' C boy. Can't imagine your lot are very popular with the legal eagles, any more than the rest of us coppers." Reluctantly, he released Alex and strode to the door. "VIV! Escort our unworthy colleague back to 'is bijou accommodation, and don't turn the heating on!"

Viv and another plod appeared and hauled Keats out, protesting every inch of the way. The door closed behind them. Gene reached for a fag and lit up.

"Mess," he muttered, tipping the ash into an ashtray. "Bloody mess. Bloody Keats."

"At least we've stopped him now, before he can harm anyone else," Alex said consolingly.

"Yeah." Gene looked grim. "But the bastard thing about it is, he might 'ave won this round. He _has_ broken up Chris an' Shaz. You're not telling me that they'll get back together, after this. Her family'll kill 'im first."

"So will she," Alex said gloomily. "But now we can tell them how Keats plotted against them, maybe we can persuade them to look upon Chris as a victim, just as much as Shaz. Which he was."

"A brain dead arsehole."

"But a victim."

"Yeah." Gene took another drag on his cigarette, and there was a brief silence.

"Gene, I promise I'll explain later why I'm asking this, but will you tell me something?"

He grinned and moved closer. "Depends what it is."

"Over the last few days, have you been overhearing any of the team talking about us? I mean - _US?_"

The fag dropped from his mouth and he turned bright pink.

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Bloody 'ell, who are you, Bolly Knickers Drake or a bloody mind reader?"

"And I'll put money on Annie having been involved."

"No. It was Chris an' Shaz."

"Ah, _Shaz._"

"Will you tell me what this is all about?"

"Not yet. We can't very well talk to Shaz at the moment, but I want a word with Annie."

"Why?"

She smiled. "Because, my dear love, I think we've been set up too, but in the nicest possible way."

"Eh?"

"By friends and colleagues who know us better than we knew ourselves."

"If you don't tell me what the hell's going on, I shall 'ang you out of the window by your knicker elastic!"

She looked at him through her lashes. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

"BOLLY!"

There was a knock at the door, and Viv entered. "Sir. Shaz and her parents are here."

"Good."

-oO0Oo-

Gene switched off the tape recorder. "So there it is. Keats cooked up the whole bloody scheme to split you an' Chris up."

He, Alex and Annie were in his office with Shaz and her parents. Shaz looked very pale and composed. Something about her seemed curiously dead. The events of the day had destroyed something within her, and left her an empty shell.

"But who is this man, and why would he do such a disgusting thing?" Mrs Granger demanded.

"He's Discipline an' Complaints, love," Gene explained. "They get brownie points for finding faults. He found a rock-solid team 'ere, so 'e's been trying to destabilise us to make 'is report look better."

"He's known to be a vindictive man. He's been suspected of spreading malicious rumours around the station for some time," Alex added. "This is the most extreme thing he's done yet."

"Will you let me meet him?" Mr Granger spoke with a quiet dignity which clearly hid boiling rage. "I want to tell this - this monster what I think of him."

Gene shook his head. " 'Fraid he's in custody now, an' I'm the only person in my station who's allowed to beat up the prisoners. May not look like it, but I'm doing you a favour. If you reduce 'im to wallpaper paste, I'd 'ave to arrest you."

"At least, now, you will know that the man who did this will be punished, and we all know the truth of what happened," Alex said gently. "Chris was culpably foolish, but he was the victim of an elaborate and wicked deception, just as much as you."

Shaz twisted her hands nervously. "What hurts is that he didn't trust me. After all we've been through together, he trusted Keats and not me."

"Believe me, Shaz, he isn't the only one to have fallen into that trap," Alex said very seriously. "Someone who thought herself far brighter than he is, was deceived by Keats too."

"If only he'd talked to me," Shaz said bitterly. "He humiliated me in front of everyone."

"Tell me, Shaz, what would you have done if, the night before the wedding, you'd seen the woman you hate most in the world climbing out of his bedroom window, talking about being in a long-standing relationship with him?"

"Killed her, and then gone into his flat and killed him," Shaz admitted.

"Well, Shaz, now you know the truth," Gene said firmly. "It'll be up to you, what you do with it. But will you do one thing for us?"

"What's that, Sir?"

"Chris is in the cells. We put 'im there for taking Ray's car, but I've persuaded Ray not to press charges. We 'ad to ID a female body pulled out of the Thames earlier today, an' I let Chris think it might be you."

Shaz looked thunderstruck. "What on earth did you do that for, Sir?"

"Because 'e deserves it." Gene sounded like judge, jury and executioner. "Trouble is, now we can't convince the daft bastard that you're alive. Will you let 'im see you? All you need do is look through the cell door when we tell you, then you can go 'ome."

Shaz looked dubious. "You're trying to make me forgive him, aren't you, Sir?"

Gene managed to look innocent. "Perish the thought."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, darling," Mrs Granger said protectively. "You owe him nothing now."

Shaz shook her head. "I know I don't have to, Mum, but I will. But, Sir, will you let me look in at one of the other cells too?"

-oO0Oo-

Viv led them down to the cells in a procession. Gene and Alex were behind him, with Shaz and her parents following and Annie bringing up the rear. Alex was convinced that Mr and Mrs Granger had insisted upon coming, to prevent Shaz being coerced into taking Chris back.

They stopped outside one of the cells. Shaz looked questioningly at Viv.

"This is it, Shaz," Viv said quietly. "Do you want me to unlock the door?"

"No." She flipped the hatch open and looked inside. Chris lay in a heap on the floor, a picture of abject misery. His morning suit was crumpled and stained, his hair stood on end, and his face was red and tracked with tears. She heard him moaning, "Shaz... Shaz... Oh, God, I know I don't deserve to ask anything, but let 'er be alive, please let 'er be alive... please... please..."

Her face softened as she looked at him, and she turned to Viv and held out her hand. "Keys."

"Shaz, no!" her father said sharply.

She turned to look at him. "_Yes_, Dad. Viv, keys."

He handed them to her, and she unlocked the door. Even the sound of the door opening could not arouse Chris from his despair. She stepped inside.

"Chris!"

The sound of her voice, which he had never expected to hear again, stirred him at last. He looked up, trembling, disbelieving, and saw her standing before him, grave, composed, her face ravaged by the griefs of the day. He scrambled to his knees.

"Shaz?"

"Yes, Chris. It's me."

"I - I'm not seeing things? You're alive?"

"Yes." She did not move, and her face was very solemn.

Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Oh, thank God. Thank God..." He broke down in inarticulate sobs again. All at once, Shaz was on her knees, taking him in her arms, drawing his head to rest on her shoulder, cradling him.

"Babes... it's all right... it's all right..."

He looked up at her, then down again. " Oh, God, Shaz, I can't ask you to forgive me, I can't, I..."

Her face was stony. "I know everything now. Keats set it all up."

He looked up. "What?"

"Hadn't they told you? Luigi taped him phoning his Super about it. He broke into my house, drugged me, and climbed out of the window, knowing that you'd be watching."

He crumpled in despair again. "An' I fell for it. Oh, God..."

She cupped his face between her hands. "Hush, Chris. Don't say anything now. We'll talk." He dropped his head to her shoulder once more, and wept while she held him.

The others, standing outside, watched with a variety of emotions. The Grangers looked outraged. Gene, standing behind Alex, wrapped his arms around her waist and murmured in her ear, "Successful conclusion, Bolly Kecks?" She answered with a nod, not wanting to further upset the Grangers, and leaned her head back against his shoulder. Viv and Annie exchanged a conspiritorial glance of triumph, which was not lost upon Gene.

After a couple of minutes, Chris's sobs eased. Shaz helped herself to the folded handkerchief in his breast pocket and wiped his face while he gasped and shook with the force of his emotions.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here."

She helped him to stand, and he stumbled out of the cell, leaning heavily on her arm. The Grangers drew aside as he passed, as though he were a disease, and Viv looked askance, but Shaz's presence at his side was like a talisman that protected him from their anger. They passed slowly along the corridor with the others falling into line behind them. Shaz halted as they reached Cell Three, and she flipped the hatch open and looked at the sorry specimen inside.

"DCI Keats?" Her voice rang out like a bell. "I've heard Luigi's tape, and I wanted to tell you that you aren't my type either. And that if we were the last two people left alive on this planet, and the future of the human race depended upon us, I'd shoot you before you laid a single finger on me. Goodbye, Sir."

She slammed the hatch, cutting off the hisses and snarls issuing from within, and led the way out.

-oO0Oo-

Somehow, Gene got them all over to Luigi's. _It always ends at Luigi's_, Alex thought, sitting next to him while Luigi recounted to the assembled cops, how he had arrested Signor Keats. Shaz sat on her other side, with a chastened Chris next to her and Annie, Viv and the Grangers facing them. Chris had been cleaned up and calmed down, and as he sat next to Shaz, he scarcely dared to look at her, yet was unwilling to look away from her.

"You did well, Shaz," Alex said softly.

"What?" Shaz's thoughts had been a long way away. "Oh - thank you, Ma'am."

"So, what happens now?" Alex said cautiously.

"I know what you all want to happen," Shaz said dully. "This should be the moment for the happy ending."

"Two happy endings," Gene put in, curling his arm around Alex.

"It should be, but it isn't." Shaz's voice and face were bleak and empty. "I know you want me to forgive him, Ma'am, but I don't think I can." The faint gleam of hope in Chris's eyes died. "Too much has happened. It wasn't just me that he hurt. Mum and Dad, all my relatives, my friends, the guests, Father Francis, Luigi."

"That's OK," Chris said bravely. "I know I don't deserve it. You're all right. That's got to be enough for me."

Shaz could not reply. Anxious to change the subject, she looked at Gene and Alex, sitting as close together as possible, with his long arm draped around her shoulder. "At least things have worked out for you, Ma'am. I'm glad of that."

"Worked out?" Alex drew away from Gene, as far as she could. "What exactly do you mean by that, Shaz?"

Shaz looked thoroughly caught out. "Well, Ma'am, that you, er, that you and the Guv have, er, found each other." She dared not catch Annie's eye.

Alex looked over her shoulder at Gene, and he recognised his cue. "I can't imagine what she's talking about, can you, DI Drake?"

"Can't imagine, Guv."

"They seem to think that you, um, love me."

"_Why, no, no more than reason_." She saw Annie squirm as the quote from _Much Ado_ hit home. _She knows we're onto her._ "Don't you love me, then?"

"Nah! 'Course not. That is - well, only a bit round the edges."

"That's very odd. Annie and Shaz said you were breaking your heart over me."

"Chris an' Shaz said you were about to chuck yourself out of the window over me. Weren't you?"

"Of course I wasn't!" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Chris, Annie and Shaz didn't know where to look, and that Ray and Viv also looked extremely uncomfortable. The whole of the CID tables had gone deathly quiet. "But the funny thing was that, after I'd heard what Annie and Shaz were saying, I realised something that I should have known a long time ago." She reached out and touched his cheek with her fingertips. "I _do_ love you."

He pulled her into his arms. "Shorten that to _I do_ an' I'll be a happy man."

Their lips met in a long, passionate kiss, a huge cheer went up, and Shaz and Annie ripped their paper napkins into shreds and pelted the lovers with the fragments. Gene disengaged himself and indignantly brushed the bits of paper away.

"_Right. _ Party over. Time for an interrogation."

"Yes," Alex agreed, mock-serious. She folded her hands severely and looked around the table. "Shaz. Chris. Annie. We need to talk to you about certain conversations which the Guv and I have overheard over the past few days."

"Ma'am?" Shaz tried to look innocent, but failed.

"These, um, conversations. Were they entirely spontaneous?"

"Not entirely," Annie admitted.

"Go on," Alex said quietly.

Annie gained courage. "We were looking forward to a wedding. We could see two lonely, unhappy people who were made for each other, and we wanted to bring them together. And we've succeeded."

"You have," Alex agreed. She glanced at Gene. "As I told the Guv earlier, we have dear friends who know us better than we know ourselves. Thank you, all of you. We owe you a lot."

"Made us look bloody stupid as well," Gene grumbled.

"And if you hadn't been made to look stupid, would you be together now?" Annie said gently. "Sam and I were so happy in the few years we had together. I want you two to be as happy as we were."

"Thank you," Alex said softly. "I hope we will be."

Gene looked away, and, understanding that he needed time to conceal his emotion, Alex continued with the interrogation. "Have you seen _Much Ado About Nothing_ at the Barbican, then?"

"Not yet. I'm going on Monday."

Alex smiled. "I saw it a fortnight ago. Derek Jacobi is brilliant. And don't think I haven't spotted the similarities between Shakespeare's play and what you've been up to. The strange thing is that Keats seems to have been taken his idea from the play as well, only you used the Beatrice and Benedick story, and he used the Hero and Claudio story."

"Great an' small minds thinking alike," Gene opined.

"Keats was here that night," Chris said suddenly. Everyone turned to him with hostile glares, and he withered.

"What night?" Gene said coldly.

"The, er, the night we were in 'ere, talking about, um, getting you an' the Boss together." Chris looked as though he wanted to hide under the table.

"That's right," Viv said thoughtfully. "Do you think he could have overheard us?"

"Surely not," Shaz put in. "He was sitting over there, by the wall. The music was on, and we were keeping our voices down."

"Were you talking about the play?" Alex suggested. "He might have heard that."

"You were looking at a newspaper," Chris said to Annie. "Then you said you 'ad a cunning plan."

Annie gasped. "The paper. Of course!"

"Eludicate," Gene growled.

Annie looked around at all of them. "I remember now. Shaz was saying that if only things could come right for the two of you, that would be her best wedding present. I'd just found an advert for _Much Ado _in my paper, and it gave me the idea for bringing you together. Keats can't have heard that, but I left the paper behind when we went. He must have picked it up, and the advert gave _him_ the idea for breaking up Chris and Shaz."

"_Bastard_!" Gene snarled.

"Oh, no." Alex looked stricken. "Oh, Shaz. So in bringing us together, you unwittingly gave Keats the weapon to drive you apart. In giving us our happiness, you lost your own."

Shaz's face was blank with shock. "I wanted it as a wedding present. Now I've got the present but no wedding."

"How can Gene and I stay together, knowing that?" Alex said craftily.

"Now, 'ang on a minute - " Gene began, and Alex trod heavily on his toe.

"No, Ma'am, no!" Shaz cried. "You can't let Keats ruin everything for you as well!"

"Then how can you let him ruin it for you?" Alex countered.

There was a long silence while a myriad of emotions chased one another across Shaz's face. She looked deeply troubled, but more alive than she had been since the débâcle in the church that morning. At last she turned in her seat to face Chris. "Listen, Chris. She's right. If we split up now, Keats will have won, and I don't want that to happen, but it'll take me time to work through this. We aren't engaged any more, but I'll give you another chance. I'll see how things go over the next few months. If you can make good, maybe I'll think again. Maybe." She looked towards her parents.

"Shaz is right," Mr Granger said with an effort. "It wasn't entirely your fault." He looked at his wife, but she would not speak and continued to look daggers at Chris. This was not going to be easy for any of them, Alex reflected.

"Thanks, Shaz," Chris said gratefully. "Thanks, sir. Don't know 'ow I'll ever make it up to you for what I did today, but I'll try my best. I know I was a div - "

"The man never spoke a truer word," Gene declared. "LUIGI! You might be the 'ero of the hour, but your wine is piss. Get me two bottles of beer, to go!"

"Right away, Signor Hunt." Luigi bustled away and returned with the bottles, which he placed in front of Gene. "_Sul casa._ Congratulations to you and to Signora Drake."

"Ta." Gene picked the bottles up and rose. "Drake. Upstairs. Now. An' if anyone dares to knock at 'er door tonight, their bollocks'll be 'er next pair of earrings." Before anyone could reply, he took her by the hand, kissed it, and led her out.

Ray sat there with his mouth hanging open. "Bloody 'ell!" He took a much-needed swig of beer. "Chris bet me Annie's plan wouldn't work. He owes me a fiver."

"Pity you can't collect it," Slate observed.

"Eh? Why not?"

"You said you'd never speak to 'im again."

"Yeah, well." Ray emptied his glass. "A fiver's a fiver." He rose and walked down the table to where Chris sat. "Hey, mate."

Chris looked up, disbelieving, almost pleading. "Ray?"

Ray held out his hand. "You owe me a fiver."

Chris smiled gratefully in understanding, and grasped his hand. "No, mate. I owe you a lot more than that. A lot more. " He felt in his pockets. "Shit. Haven't got any money on me. Can I pay you tomorrow?"

-oO0Oo-

Gene was sprawled comfortably on Alex's stripy sofa, his booted feet propped on the coffee table. Alex was curled up beside him, her head on his shoulder and her hand upon his heart. The beer bottles stood on the table in front of them.

Alex laughed softly. "I don't know…"

"Eh? What don't you know?"

She sat up and gazed at him rapturously. "Most men would offer a girl champagne and diamonds. You give me a bottle of beer and a promise of bollock earrings. And you know what? With you attached, that's all I want."

"Good." He kissed her. "Most blokes'd settle for the beer. I want the beer _an_' the bird." They embraced and sank back onto the sofa, entwined and content. "Happy ending."

Alex's face clouded. "It is for us. We still don't know whether it will be for Chris and Shaz. At least we know it won't be for Keats."

"I 'ope it won't," Gene said very seriously, "but I wouldn't bet my single malt stash on it."

"What?" Alex disengaged herself and looked at him in horror. "But the evidence we have against him is overwhelming!"

"Oh, yes, he's finished at this station. But Callahan, 'is Chief Super, will get 'im out of it one way or another. He'll 'ave to, to save D an' C's reputation. There'll be a cover-up the size of Watergate, just like there was when Mac topped 'imself. An' that'll leave Keats free to spread 'is poison at other stations."

"And give him the chance to destroy more innocent lives." Alex's face fell. "So has it all been for nothing, then?"

Gene pulled her close. "How can you say that, with you an' me 'ere together at last?"

She shook her head. "You know I didn't mean that. We tracked Keats down and exposed him to the air, but now it'll all be buried. It's so unjust."

Gene stroked her hair. "Life's not just, Bolly. You know that. Chris an' Shaz'll 'ave their own problems to face, an' we've still got to fight Keats an' Callahan. But now, whatever we do, we'll be doing it together."

"Yes." She snuggled closer. "Together."

"We've got each other now, whatever happens. Keats'll never be able to set us against one another again. We're a team, Bols. Unbreakable." He reached for a bottle. "There may be trouble ahead, but while there's moonlight, and music, and beer, and romance, let's face the music and - "

"Dance?" She jumped to her feet and crossed over to the sound system.

"I _was_ going to say, face the music an' 'ave a long overdue shag."

"Well, _I_ say, dance." She reached for her Spandau Ballet tape, put it into the slot, and pressed Play.

"Gene Hunt does _not_ dance!"

_... I know this much is true._

**THE END**


End file.
